Department for Transport

Aviation: Disability

Dame Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to work with airlines and airports to enable wheelchair users to board and travel on aeroplanes with comfort and dignity.

Jesse Norman: The rights of disabled persons and those with reduced mobility when travelling by air are important to the Government, and we are keen to see improvements happen where necessary. We welcome innovative ideas being discussed, such as the campaign “Flying Disabled” that champions wheelchair access to aircraft. The campaign is in early stages, with the industry looking further into the proposal. The Government will follow this work closely. More widely, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the national enforcement body for disabled passenger rights legislation in the UK. They work closely with the industry and monitor their performance to ensure the service the passengers receive is of high quality. The CAA publishes a report annually in which the UK airports are ranked as “very good”, “good” or “poor” in relation to the services and assistance they provide to disabled passengers and those with reduced mobility.

Tyres

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of part-worn tyres imported into the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the fail rate of tyres on vehicles stopped by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency during roadside spot checks.

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward proposals to increase minimum tyre depth treads to prevent used tyre imports and improve road safety.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport does not monitor the number of imported part-worn tyres and has made no estimate of the numbers entering the country. Tyres used on light-duty vehicles must have a minimum tread depth of 1.6 mm through a continuous band across the central three-quarters of the tread width and around the whole circumference of the tyre. The value of 1.6 mm was introduced in 1992 following a review of the effectiveness of worn tyres in the context of safety performance; there are no plans to review this requirement. Part-worn tyres are required to exceed these safe limits, and to have a minimum of 2 mm tread depth across the whole tread width and around the whole circumference of the tyre.The assessment of tyres during roadside inspection follows the guidance applied during the annual MOT test. The following table provides details on the total number of vehicles checked by the Department’s Agencies in each of the last three years, and the number which failed to meet the required standard for one or more tyres. Tyre condition roadside assessmentNumber of Vehicles checked and number of vehicles with one or more failure2015/16Number CheckedNumber DefectivePercentage Defective8886177708.742016/17Number CheckedNumber DefectivePercentage Defective13427573835.52017/18 (to date)Number CheckedNumber DefectivePercentage Defective10834457465.3

Department for Transport: Ministerial Powers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many ministerial directions were issued to his Department in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Secretary of State for Transport issued two Ministerial directions to his Department in 2015, one in 2016 and none in 2017. The directions were previously disclosed via the departmental annual report and accounts for the relevant financial years. These are available at the following URLs. Financial year 2014/15:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015 Financial year 2016/17:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of DVSA testers available to test commercial vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) priority is to help people keep their vehicles safe to drive. It is working hard to ensure there is sufficient testing resources across the network to meet demand. The DVSA has set up a specialist team to address the concerns of authorised testing facilities (ATF), and is holding a series of local events across the country from January to April 2018 to work with ATFs to improve the efficiency of testing. The DVSA is in the process of making employment offers to an additional 26 new entrant staff to join the agency by April 2018, and plans to launch a further recruitment campaign in early February to ensure it has the right people with the right skills in the right areas.

Railways: Fylde

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2017 to Question 120042, for what reasons the Answer of 11 December 2017 to Question 117958 stated that the decision to increase service frequency would be a commercial decision for the Train Operating Company to make when his Department has stated that it is not feasible for Northern Rail to increase the frequency of trains from the current hourly service on the South Fylde line without upgrading the existing single-track line infrastructure.

Joseph Johnson: In the event that the South Fylde line did upgrade the existing single-track line infrastructure or the Train Operating Company were able to otherwise realise greater capacity on the network through other means it would be a commercial decision for the Train Operating Company to make. The current terms of our franchise agreement do not require or financially support the Train Operating Company’s operation of an additional level of frequency beyond the current levels.

Railways: Tickets

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish an assessment of the non-provision by (a) Govia Thameslink Railway and (b) other franchisees of part-time season tickets on (i) women returning to work after having children and (ii) other people needing to work part-time; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: We continue to challenge the rail industry to develop proposals for pricing and delivering more flexible ticketing options for those who work or commute part-time. Progress has been made on delivery of more flexible tickets. c2c have a Flexi-Season on a smart card. Arriva Trains Wales have introduced a Mobile Multi-Flex product for customers in Cardiff and the surrounding areas. In addition both the recently announced South Western and West Midlands franchises include the announcement of a new flexible season ticket which will benefit people working fewer than 5 days a week.

Railways: Diesel Fuel

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of diesel trains on air quality at railway stations.

Joseph Johnson: We expect the new diesel rolling stock which is starting to come on stream, being required to meet the latest emissions standards, will help reduce air pollution by replacing the oldest diesel trains built decades ago. However, the Government is committed to further improving air quality and is taking action across a range of transport modes. With respect to rail, in September 2017, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) commissioned a study of air quality in Kings Cross, Euston and Edinburgh Waverley stations. The study will start in early 2018 and is expected to be completed in 2019. In addition, Network Rail, in partnership with the University of Birmingham, are undertaking air quality monitoring at Birmingham New Street Station. This work is expected to be completed shortly.

Blue Badge Scheme

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to negotiate for continued UK membership of the Blue Badge disability parking scheme.

Jesse Norman: The Blue Badge scheme is a UK scheme, enshrined in national legislation, and will continue after the UK’s exit from the EU. The Government recognises the benefits of mutual recognition of badges across the EU for UK citizens travelling to Europe. We are considering carefully the potential implications arising from the UK’s exit from the EU, including for the continued recognition of Blue Badges.

Railway Stations: Welborne

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a new train station at Welborne and the effect that station would have on connectivity between Portsmouth and Southampton.

Joseph Johnson: The Department has not undertaken any assessment of proposals for a station at Welborne.

Driving Tests: Safety

Martin Whitfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that new standards within the updated driving examination meet health and safety requirements for (a) the applicant, (b) the driving instructor and (c) other road users.

Jesse Norman: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) introduced the new practical driving test on 4 December 2017. The new elements of the test were trialled extensively. The DVSA carried out a risk assessment of the new test in July 2017 and conducted further evaluations in September 2017, which did not identify any unacceptable risk. It also commissioned an independent assessment of the test from The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). The RoSPA report concluded that all new parts of the driving test were low risk.

Railways: Compensation

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of train operating companies levying administration fees on customer compensation claims for delayed services on the level of such claims received in the last three years.

Joseph Johnson: Train operating companies do not levy administration fees on compensation claims for delayed services, therefore there is no effect on the level of compensation claims.

Railways

Mr Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Network Rail on the Speed to the West initiative in the last three months; and what the outcomes of those discussions has been.

Joseph Johnson: The Secretary of State regularly meets with stakeholders from across the rail industry, including Network Rail. Such discussions may include reference to rail services in the South West. Officials from the Department for Transport have met with Network Rail to discuss how the findings of the Speed to the West study might be considered as part of the planning process for Control Period 6 (2019 – 2024).

Railways: South West

Mr Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to respond to the Peninsula Rail Task Force rail improvement plan published in 2016.

Joseph Johnson: We will continue to engage with the Peninsula Rail Task Force (PRTF) and other interested parties as the planning for Network Rail’s work programme for the period starting in April 2019 and the development of the specifications for the future Great Western and Cross Country franchises unfold. The work of the Peninsula Rail Task Force continues to be a valuable part of the process for defining our priorities for investment after 2019. New enhancements will be taken forward through a new process in the form of a pipeline, designed to ensure investment best addresses the needs of passengers and freight, and that funding commitments appropriately reflect the stage of development of enhancements.

Railways: South West

Mr Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department and Network Rail plan to spend on the Paddington to Penzance rail link in Control Period 6.

Joseph Johnson: Network Rail are preparing Strategic Business Plans for Control Period 6 (CP6) as part of their regulated Periodic Review process, expected to be concluded in October 2018. This will determine the level of investment in operations, maintenance and renewals for each route across the network, including the Western Route, which contains the line from Paddington to Penzance.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Space Technology

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what sum his Department has spent on the UK space sector since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The UK Space Agency was established on 1 April 2011. The net operating expenditure for the period is £2.253bn, between the Agency’s establishment, up to and including the 2017/18 budget allocation. Financial year2011/122012/132013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18*Total Net operating expenditure2562373233163503713992,253*Budget allocation for the financial year   Key segments of investment are subscriptions to the European Space Agency (ESA) which results in ESA expenditure with UK companies under the ‘juste retour’ policy, National Programme grants and other International Partnerships e.g. ODA delivered through UK companies. Further information can be found in the published UK Space Agency Annual Report and Accounts for each financial year.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Beverage Containers

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate has been made of the number of hot drink cups that are (a) used each year and (b) sent for recycling by his Department.

Andrew Griffiths: The Department was created in July 2016. The Department’s catering supplier, Baxter Storey, purchased the following disposable cups for use in the staff restaurants and coffee shops: YearNo. of cups201660,832201748,912 The Department makes provision for recycling and has specially marked recycling bins throughout the Department.

Energy: Prices

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department made an assessment of the operation of energy price caps in other countries prior to publishing the draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill.

Claire Perry: Many countries in the world regulate retail energy prices, but unlike Great Britain their markets were not previously liberalised. The Government is clear that the price cap should be temporary and that, in setting the cap, Ofgem must regard must be given to, among other things, the need to protect consumers and ensure that efficient suppliers can finance their activities.

Research: EU Grants and Loans

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the amount of funding for research has been allocated by the EU to UK institutions in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16, and (c) 2016-17.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy regularly publish statistics on UK participations in Horizon 2020, the main EU programme for research and innovation funding. As part of Horizon 2020, between 2014 and 2017 UK organisations have been allocated €4.0 billion research funding. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uks-participation-in-horizon-2020-september-2017. The European Commission publishes data on the 2014-20 European Structural and Investment Funds programmes. Over €1.6bn has been allocated for research and innovation to the UK. Further information can be found at: https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/countries/UK# .

Fuel Poverty: Rural Areas

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the level of fuel poverty of households which are off the gas grid.

Claire Perry: Holding answer received on 22 January 2018



In 2015, households in England off the gas grid were more likely to be in fuel poverty (15.2%) compared to those on the gas grid (10.4%) and the depth of their fuel poverty was more severe - households off the gas grid had an average fuel poverty gap of £607 compared to £296 for those that were on the gas grid. Households off the gas grid made up 18.5 per cent of the total number of fuel poor households, whereas, households on the gas grid made up 81.5 per cent. The data in the attached document is from Table 10 of our fuel poverty detailed tables which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fuel-poverty-detailed-tables-2017   



Table 10
(PDF Document, 83.7 KB)

Post Offices: Bank Services

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of whether the post office network will have the capacity to meet any increase in demand for banking services after the closure of a number of RBS and NatWest bank branches; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Griffiths: The Government is committed to improving access to financial services for all consumers and small businesses in the UK.99% of UK personal bank accounts and 95% of small business accounts can be accessed to withdraw cash and deposit cash and cheques over the counter in any of the UK’s network of over 11,600 post offices. It is the operational responsibility of the Post Office to meet its contractual obligations under the agreement it has with the banks to provide banking services.

Post Offices: Cash Dispensing

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that post offices provide free access to ATMs when there is no other ATM within 1km of that post office.

Andrew Griffiths: The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK. Government has been engaging and will continue to engage with industry to ensure that this access is maintained.LINK, the main scheme behind the UK’s ATM network, has assured us that industry is committed to maintaining an extensive network of free-to-use cash machines, and to ensuring that the present geographical spread of ATMs is maintained. LINK intends to bolster its Financial Inclusion Programme, which ensures the provision of ATMs in areas of deprivation, where demand would not otherwise make one viable, and has also committed to protecting all free-to-use ATMs which are a kilometre or more from the next nearest free-to-use ATM.The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which Government set up as an independent regulator in 2015 with a statutory objective to ensure that the UK’s payment systems work in the interests of their users, is monitoring developments within ATM provision, and is conducting ongoing work on the impact that changes may have. The PSR has recently published a summary of their work to date, which can be found at https://www.psr.org.uk/psr-focus/the-UK-ATM-network.The PSR has committed to using its powers to act should any of the firms it regulates behave in a way that conflicts with its statutory objectives.99% of UK personal bank accounts and 95% of small business accounts can be accessed to withdraw cash and deposit cash and cheques over the counter in any of the UK’s network of over 11,600 post offices.

Minimum Wage: Arrears

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2018 to Question 121446, how many of the 169 employers owed arrears, including those for which they were named and shamed, to (a) more than 250 workers and (b) more than 500 workers.

Andrew Griffiths: Of the 169 employers who were instructed to self-correct further arrears in naming rounds 10-13:17 employers owed arrears to more than 250 workers, of which 12 employers owed arrears to more than 500 workers.This breakdown represents the arrears owed by a business to its workers, not the employer size.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will reform the Warm Home Discount Scheme to target support at disabled people who are struggling with high energy costs.

Claire Perry: Some disabled people are able to receive the Warm Home Discount currently if they are in receipt of qualifying benefits or if they meet the criteria determined by their energy supplier. Government will be consulting shortly on changes to the Warm Home Discount for 2018/19. We will also be consulting soon on the Energy Company Obligation proposing reforms to focus the whole scheme on low income and vulnerable households.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help aid to reach people in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: ​The UK continues to take the lead in lobbying across the international community, urging all parties to the conflict to take action to ensure rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access. This call was repeated by the UN Security Council Presidential Statement proposed and coordinated by the UK in June 2017.The British Government has been very closely engaged on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The Foreign Secretary and I have spoken to the Saudi Foreign Minister about the situation several times in recent months. The Foreign Secretary also discussed this with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on several occasions – most recently on 19 December. The Prime Minister, International Development Secretary and Chancellor all raised the importance of addressing the humanitarian crisis during recent visits to Saudi Arabia. We welcome the announcement on 20 December 2017, by the Saudi-led Coalition, that Hodeidah port will be kept open for humanitarian and food supplies, and that commercial shipping including fuel and food will be permitted to enter.

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help bring about a settlement in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: We continue to play a leading role in diplomatic efforts, including bringing together key international actors to try to find a peaceful solution. It is vital that we work towards renewing a UN peace process as a matter of urgency. By the end of the financial year 2017/18 we will have provided £1.68 million to the UN Special Envoy's office to bolster the UN's capacity to facilitate the peace process.

Iran: Guided Weapons

Paul Scully: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received of the establishment of Iranian rocket factories in Lebanon under the control of Hezbollah.

Alistair Burt: ​We are aware of reports that Hizballah continues to amass an arsenal of weapons in Lebanon. The UK remains concerned about the threat that this poses to regional stability and the direct contravention of UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701. We will also continue to take action with the international community to encourage Iran to play a transparent and constructive role in regional affairs.

Trident

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the US Administration on options for the replacement of the UK Trident nuclear warhead.

Sir Alan Duncan: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to written question 122611 by my Hon. Friend the Minister for Defence.

Hezbollah: Weapons

Paul Masterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on Hezbollah’s weapons arsenal.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of reports that Hizballah continues to amass an arsenal of weapons in Lebanon. The UK remains concerned about the threat that this poses to regional stability and the direct contravention of UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701.

Syria: Chemical Weapons

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on an attack using chlorine gas in the Eastern Ghouta region of Syria on 13 January 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Boris Johnson: We are concerned by the latest reports of an alleged Syrian regime chlorine attack in Eastern Ghouta on 13 January. UK officials are in regular contact with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), whose investigators are investigating the allegations of chlorine use in Eastern Ghouta, alongside a number of other allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria in the past year.The OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism has found that the Asad regime has used chemical weapons on four occasions, and Daesh twice. The latest report from the OPCW Director General again states that Syria's Declaration of its chemical weapons programme required under the Chemical Weapons Convention remains incomplete, and that significant "gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies" have not been resolved.The British Government has made clear that it condemns the use of chemical weapons by anyone anywhere and that those who use chemical weapons should be held to account. I discuss on a regular basis the international community's response to the situation in Syria with international counterparts, including foreign ministers from the US and the EU, and have raised the matter with the Russian Foreign Minister. The UK continues to work closely with international partners to bring those in Syria responsible for the most atrocious crimes to account.

Syria: Chemical Weapons

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US Administration on reports of an attack using chlorine gas in the Eastern Ghouta region of Syria on 13 January 2018.

Boris Johnson: We are concerned by the latest reports of an alleged Syrian regime chlorine attack in Eastern Ghouta on 13 January. UK officials are in regular contact with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), whose investigators are investigating the allegations of chlorine use in Eastern Ghouta, alongside a number of other allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria in the past year.The OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism has found that the Asad regime has used chemical weapons on four occasions, and Daesh twice. The latest report from the OPCW Director General again states that Syria's Declaration of its chemical weapons programme required under the Chemical Weapons Convention remains incomplete, and that significant "gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies" have not been resolved.The British Government has made clear that it condemns the use of chemical weapons by anyone anywhere and that those who use chemical weapons should be held to account. I discuss on a regular basis the international community's response to the situation in Syria with international counterparts, including foreign ministers from the US and the EU, and have raised the matter with the Russian Foreign Minister. The UK continues to work closely with international partners to bring those in Syria responsible for the most atrocious crimes to account.

Syria: Chemical Weapons

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with officials from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on reports of an attack using chlorine gas in the Eastern Ghouta region of Syria on 13 January 2018; and what steps he plans to take to facilitate an investigation of such reports by the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission in Syria.

Boris Johnson: We are concerned by the latest reports of an alleged Syrian regime chlorine attack in Eastern Ghouta on 13 January. UK officials are in regular contact with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), whose investigators are investigating the allegations of chlorine use in Eastern Ghouta, alongside a number of other allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria in the past year.The OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism has found that the Asad regime has used chemical weapons on four occasions, and Daesh twice. The latest report from the OPCW Director General again states that Syria's Declaration of its chemical weapons programme required under the Chemical Weapons Convention remains incomplete, and that significant "gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies" have not been resolved.The British Government has made clear that it condemns the use of chemical weapons by anyone anywhere and that those who use chemical weapons should be held to account. I discuss on a regular basis the international community's response to the situation in Syria with international counterparts, including foreign ministers from the US and the EU, and have raised the matter with the Russian Foreign Minister. The UK continues to work closely with international partners to bring those in Syria responsible for the most atrocious crimes to account.

Syria: Chemical Weapons

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to raise the use of chemical weapons by the Government of Syria at the 87th Session of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in March 2018.

Boris Johnson: The use of chemical weapons in Syria is a serious challenge facing the international community. The UK fully supports the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in its work to investigate cases of chemical weapons use, and to verify Syria’s Declaration of its chemical weapons programme under the Chemical Weapons Convention. As a member of the OPCW Executive Council, the UK has raised our concerns repeatedly and has called on Syria to comply with the Convention, for the illegal use of chemical weapons in Syria to stop immediately, and for those responsible to be held to account. We will continue to raise these issues in future meetings of the OPCW.

Turkey: Religious Freedom

Robert Courts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of religious freedom in Turkey; and what steps the Government is taking to promote and protect the right to freedom of religion or belief in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK has some concerns over freedom of religious belief in Turkey and the issue continues to be a priority area for our bilateral projects in Turkey. We have raised our concerns with Turkish interlocutors up to and including at Prime Ministerial level. We will continue to encourage Turkey to work towards the full protection of fundamental rights, especially in the areas of minority rights, freedom of religion and freedom of expression.

Africa: Anniversaries

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to mark the UN International Decade for People of African Descent.

Mark Field: Her Majesty's Government has no specific plans to mark the UN International Decade for People of African Descent. However, the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance remains a high priority for the UK.Domestically, the UK has one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world in place to protect communities from hostility, violence and bigotry and we keep it under review to ensure that it remains effective and appropriate in the face of new and emerging threats.Internationally, we work through the United Nations to ensure the international community focuses on strengthening national, regional and international legal frameworks, in order to make a reality of the protections contained in the United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Africa: United Nations

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons his Department was not represented at the UN Regional Meeting on People of African Descent of 23 to 24 November 2017 in Geneva.

Mark Field: Her Majesty's Government was represented at the UN Regional Meeting on People of African Descent on 23 to 24 November 2017 by officials from our mission in Geneva. We actively contributed to the European Union's opening statement and to the 'Outcome document' which was agreed by all states present.

Repatriation: Families

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support is available to families to repatriate a family member who dies abroad and for whom they cannot afford the cost of repatriation.

Harriett Baldwin: The support available for families of British nationals who die overseas of is set out in the Guide for Bereaved Families. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also produces country-specific bereavement packs, with practical information for bereaved families, including lists of local and international funeral directors and information on legal processes in other countries. If a bereaved family cannot repatriate the body of their deceased relative for any reason, consular staff can provide information on the cost of local burial or cremation and help transfer money from friends and relatives in the UK to pay any necessary costs. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is unable to pay any burial, cremation or repatriation expenses or settle any debts. Families should look, in the first instance, to insurers to cover the cost. If the deceased was not insured, then friends and family may be able to bear the cost.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take as a result of reported violations of the South Sudan cessation of hostilities agreement.

Harriett Baldwin: We strongly condemn all violations of the Cessation of Hostilities in South Sudan. We call on all signatories to the agreement to end all violence immediately and to enter the next round of the High Level Revitalisation forum with a genuine commitment to making progress. We are urging the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to ensure that the consequences for those who seek to spoil the peace process, or violate any agreement, are clearly communicated and effectively implemented.

Israel: Palestinians

Ross Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Palestinian Authority on accepting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's invitation to return to direct peace negotiations without preconditions.

Alistair Burt: The UK is committed to making progress towards a two-state solution. We regularly press both the Israelis and Palestinians to engage in direct negotiations that will lead to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state. The Foreign Secretary and I reiterated our support for a negotiated two-state solution when we met Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki in London on 8 January.

Kazakhstan: Religious Freedom

Dame Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of religious freedom in Kazakhstan; and what steps the Government is taking to promote and protect the right to freedom of religion or belief in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan: Kazakhstan has a relatively tolerant environment and constitutionally does not single out or allow preference for any particular religion.Groups such as the Ahmadiyya and Jehovah's Witnesses have experienced some problems with the Kazakh authorities over registration and taxation issues. A recent draft law on religious activity has imposed a further regulatory burden on religious organisations.During my visit to Kazakhstan in August 2017 I encouraged respect for human rights, and publicly addressed a Kazakh audience on the importance of human rights and equality of all citizens.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Ministerial Powers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many ministerial directions were issued to his Department in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​None.

Iran: Internet

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department took in response to the restrictions placed by the Iranian Government on the instant messaging service Telegram; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: On 11 January, the Foreign Secretary discussed Iran's response to the protests with Foreign Minister Zarif. In addition, on 5 January, we supported the proposal to discuss the protests at the UN Security Council where we set out our human rights concerns strongly.

Jerusalem

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether UK Government representatives attended the Egyptian Government's Al-Azhar's international conference in Cairo on the issue of Jerusalem.

Alistair Burt: A Foreign and Commonwealth Office official attended a conference hosted by Al-Azhar in Cairo on 17 January 2018, which was focused on the issue of Jerusalem.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that civil society groups in South Sudan are included in the second round of the High Level Revitalisation Forum taking place in February 2018.

Harriett Baldwin: The British Government has repeatedly called for the inclusion of a broad range of actors in the High Level Revitalisation Forum (RVF), including civil society groups. We welcomed the involvement of representatives from South Sudanese civil society in the first round of the RVF in December, and encourage their continued inclusion as the process progresses.Through our diplomatic engagement, we will continue to make this point at the highest levels, both directly to Inter-Governmental Authority on Development and to all parties to the conflict.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Ministerial Powers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many ministerial directions were issued to her Department in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Department has not issued any ministerial directions in the years listed.

Bombardier Aerospace: Belfast

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will make it her priority to meet with Bombardier in Belfast to discuss the potential merits of additional Government support for that company in its dispute with Boeing in the US; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The UK Government will continue to undertake all efforts to support Bombardier and defend UK interests against the unjustified and unwarranted case brought by Boeing regarding the C-Series programme.I look forward to engaging with the company, its workforce and wider stakeholders on this issue. All those affected can be reassured that the UK Government will do all that is possible to safeguard the livelihoods of workers, their families, those in the broader supply chain, and the Northern Ireland economy as a whole.

Department of Health and Social Care

Doctors: Stress

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce workload-related strain on doctors in hospitals.

Stephen Barclay: It is in the first instance for employers to ensure that the workloads and working patterns of all staff are appropriate. The Department is supporting the National Health Service in reducing workload related strain on all staff including doctors in hospitals through its mandate with NHS England which has a “Commissioning for Quality and Innovation” (CQUIN) incentive programme1 to improve staff health and wellbeing, and publishes the annual NHS Staff Survey. NHS England’s CQUIN programme should encourage trusts to, where appropriate, introduce new services for employees to give them the support they need including quicker access to mental health and musculoskeletal services. The NHS Staff Survey2 asks staff a range of questions about their health and wellbeing which helps trusts benchmark against their peers to help inform local improvement plans. The Department also commissions NHS Employers3, who are working with NHS England, NHS Improvement and Public Health England to help the Service tackle the causes of workload related strain including reducing the likelihood and impact of resultant illnesses through advice, guidance and good practice as well as tools and resources for trusts to use. National terms and conditions for hospital doctors include provisions on managing work: through job plans for consultants, associate specialists and specialty doctors; and work schedules for doctors and dentists in training. There are limits on working hours in legislation; there are stronger contractual limits in the 2016 contract for doctors and dentists in training and all trusts were required to review and, where needed, redesign rotas to ensure compliance with those limits. There are strong safeguards in place for doctors and dentists in training through a system of exception reporting, with oversight by Guardians of Safe Working Hours and Directors of Medical Education reporting to trust boards. Trusts must provide annual reports on rota gaps, and plans for addressing them, to external bodies including regulatory bodies. Notes: 1https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-staff-health-wellbeing-commissioning-for-quality-and-innovation-cquin-2017-19-indicator-1-implementation-support/ 2http://www.nhsstaffsurveys.com/Page/1006/Latest-Results/2016-Results/ 3http://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/retain-and-improve/staff-experience/health-work-and-wellbeing

Hepatitis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to a Hepatitis C elimination plan in order to meet the WHO target of eliminating the disease as a public health threat by 2030; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Government is committed to meeting the World Health Organization (WHO) target of eliminating hepatitis C by 2030 but there are no plans at this time to publish a strategy to eliminate hepatitis C. A variety of initiatives are underway in England to improve awareness and case finding, re-engagement and linkage to care, especially in drug services, primary care, prisons and accident and emergency centres. In addition, NHS England is funding access to new hepatitis C treatments in accordance with guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). A summary of progress towards achieving the WHO elimination goal was published in 2017 in Public Health England’s report, ‘Hepatitis C in the UK’, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/632465/HCV_in_the_uk_report_2017.pdf This showed that the United Kingdom is on target to meet the WHO interim goal of reducing hepatitis C mortality by 10% by 2020. Better access to improved treatment has led to the first fall in deaths from severe hepatitis C related liver disease in decade.

Hepatitis: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to discuss with the pharmaceutical industry steps to ensure that all patients who suffer from Hepatitis C have access to the full range of available medicines.

Steve Brine: Currently, patients with chronic hepatitis C have access to all National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved hepatitis C treatments where clinically appropriate in line with current NICE guidance. Procurement of hepatitis C drugs is already undertaken every six months and this process involves discussion with industry regarding improving the cost to the National Health Service of these treatments. NHS England is continuing its work with industry on the prospects for a different approach to procurement which would further improve cost of these treatments.

Hepatitis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the Hepatitis C treatment rates were for each Operational Delivery Network in 2016-17.

Steve Brine: The information is not available in the format requested. Each Operational Delivery Network (ODN) was allocated a share of the national 10,000 treatment run rate for 2016-17 based on estimated need. Allocations were varied in the course of the year so it is therefore not possible to provide treatment rates. The table below provides information on the number of treatments completed by each ODN in 2016-17. NetworkActualBarts494Birmingham748Bristol and Severn Hep C ODN326Cheshire & Merseyside347Eastern Hepatitis Network586Greater Manchester & Eastern Cheshire687Humberside and North Yorkshire377Kent Network via Kings154Lancashire & South Cumbria330Leicester255North Central London Viral Hepatitis Network730North East & Cumbria395Nottingham383South Thames Hepatitis Network870South Yorkshire340Surrey Hepatitis Services154Sussex Hepatology Network241SW Peninsula Hepatitis C ODN328Thames Valley Hep C ODN347Wessex Hep C ODN341West London562West Yorkshire445Total9,440

Hepatitis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department plans to increase the number of Hepatitis C patients who are diagnosed and treated.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to (a) increase the extent and frequency of testing and (b) improve treatment for Hepatitis C for people who inject drugs .

Steve Brine: Initiatives to increase the number of patients diagnosed with hepatitis C infection (HCV) include raising public and professional awareness, improving case finding, and re-engagement and linkage to care - especially in drug services, primary care, prisons and accident and emergency centres. NHS England is rolling out an Opt-Out Blood Borne Viruses testing programme; the key aim is to improve uptake rates for hepatitis C testing across the adult prison estate by end of 2017-18. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines are available to help raise awareness of, and testing for, hepatitis C infection in people at increased risk of infection. The guidelines can be viewed at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph43 A variety of interventions for improved case-finding have been implemented, including home sampling for hepatitis C and improving engagement of diagnosed individuals in primary care (including migrants and people who have ever injected drugs). In addition the feasibility of opt-out testing in accident and emergency services is being explored. These interventions include non-invasive testing of oral fluid, dried blood spot testing to facilitate uptake. Mobile find and test services and a scheme offering testing for HCV in people who inject drugs who use pharmacy needle exchange services are being piloted.

Alcoholic Drinks: Minimum Prices

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of minimum unit pricing for alcoholic drinks on health inequalities.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) published an evidence review on the public health impact of alcohol and the effectiveness of policies for reducing alcohol-related harm in December 2016. The review concluded that reducing the affordability of alcohol is the most effective way of reducing alcohol harm, and targeted pricing measures are particularly effective at reducing harm in those groups most at risk. Modelling studies by the University of Sheffield highlighted by PHE suggest that minimum unit price would have a positive impact in closing the health inequalities gap between those in the highest and those in the lowest socioeconomic groups. These studies are available at: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.661445!/file/Final_mup_iba_report.pdf Minimum unit pricing and its effects will continue to remain under review pending the impact of its implementation in Scotland.

Hospitals: Parking

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospital trusts in England have considered installing a pay on exit or similar scheme since the publication of his Department's guidance on NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles, last updated on 29 October 2015; and how many hospital trusts (a) are planning to install such a scheme in 2018 and (b) have decided against installing such a scheme.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's guidance on NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles, last updated on 29 October 2015, how many NHS trusts, NHS hospitals or establishments providing NHS healthcare in England have imposed a requirement for parking contractors to be members of a parking trade association, such as the British Parking Association and the Independent Parking Committee, since the initial publication of that guidance on 23 August 2014.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's guidance on NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles, last updated on 29 October 2015, how many NHS hospitals in England prioritise parking for staff whose daily duties require them to travel by car.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's guidance on NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles, last updated on 29 October 2015, how many NHS hospitals in England provide internal travel arrangements between hospital sites for staff who routinely travel between hospital sites.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's guidance on NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles, last updated on 29 October 2015, how many hospital trusts in England have installed a pay on exit or similar scheme since the initial publication of that guidance on 23 August 2014.

Stephen Barclay: This data is not collected centrally. National Health Service organisations are responsible locally for their own policy on internal travel arrangements and car parking, taking into account operational circumstances and community interests. The NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles (first published in August 2014 and then updated in October 2015), set out a nationally consistent approach to determining car parking policies, making clear the rules which NHS trusts should follow when making decisions about car parking. However, the provision of parking spaces for patients, staff, contractors, and other visitors to the site and the level of any charges that are made to use them are matters for individual NHS trusts.

Rape: Children

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care whether his Department has issued guidance in the procedure for using rape kits on children under 16 and the gender of the medical professional using that rape kit.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what specialised training medical professionals have for using rape kits and medical assessments of victims of sexual assault aged 16 and under.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department has not issued guidance in the procedure for using rape kits on children under 16 and the gender of the medical professional using that rape kit. The Government supported the recommendation made by the independent review by Baroness Stern into how rape complaints are handled by public authorities that there should be the choice of a male or female forensic physician to undertake the examination. Medical professionals should be sufficiently trained and clinically supervised to comply with guidance from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine.

Patients: Transport

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Minister in his Department has responsibility for patient transport.

Steve Brine: I have portfolio responsibility for the commissioning of non-urgent patient transport.

Health Services: Weather

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to avoid a repetition of this year’s winter crisis in the NHS.

Stephen Barclay: Rigorous planning takes place each year to ensure the National Health Service is resilient in the face of the challenges winter brings. This year planning began earlier than ever before to ensure robust plans were in place. This planning was supported by an extra £337 million, on top of the previously announced £100 million for accident and emergency departments and an additional £1 billion of funding to be spent on meeting adult social care needs, supporting the social care market and reducing pressure on the NHS this year. A revised escalation framework encompassing all levels of the system – local, regional and national – has also been put in place to ensure a greater standardisation of response to winter pressures. This is overseen by the newly formed National Emergency Pressures Panel. We are not, however, complacent and we will continue to focus our efforts on delivering world class health care even in the most challenging of situations. Influenza vaccination will continue to be offered to everyone over the age of 65 years, those who are at particular risk to flu, pregnant women and healthcare workers, at the earliest opportunity. In addition, in 2018/19 all children between 2-9 years of age are being offered the nasal spray vaccine to help protect them and their families against influenza. As in previous years, NHS England and NHS Improvement will undertake a full review of this winter and identify any learning that the NHS can take forward into planning for future winters.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure patients at accident and emergency departments do not spend an extended period of time waiting in ambulances before they are seen.

Stephen Barclay: NHS Improvement and NHS England are taking a joint approach to reduce patient handover delays, including: - improved monitoring and daily review of ambulance handover delays by national and regional winter operations teams;- targeted assistance to hospital trusts to improve handover performance; and- the issuing of revised, detailed hospital handover guidelines, focussing responsibility on the wider system to address handover delays, including clear escalation procedures. Work is also underway to improve patient flows within the hospital, alongside improving discharge arrangements.

Doctors: Migrant Workers

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to replace the services of overseas qualified doctors that (a) are planning to leave and (b) may leave in the next five years.

Stephen Barclay: The Government hugely values the contribution of overseas doctors working in the National Health Service. As of September 2017 there are 3,276 more staff from non-United Kingdom European Union countries working in the NHS than in June 2016. The Government is committed to ensuring that the NHS is able to meet demand well into the 21st century, and this is why from September 2018, the Government will fund up to 1,500 additional medical training places in England each year. This is in addition to the 6,000 medical school places currently available in England.

Veterinary Medicine: Migrant Workers

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that slaughterhouse vets who are non-UK EU citizens can continue to work here after the UK leaves the EU.

Steve Brine: Veterinarians play a vital role in safeguarding United Kingdom public health, maintaining animal health and welfare and enabling trade. We value their work, and we want to ensure that they can continue to make an important contribution. Ministers in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and officials at the Food Standards Agency have been talking to representatives of the profession to ensure that those who do such an essential job continue to feel valued and to play the important role they do in assuring the public of the very high standards of food hygiene. The Food Standards Agency are working on a number of contingencies to ensure that we maintain the excellent standards of food safety that the UK currently enjoys, and maintain an effective workforce.

Carillion

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) draw up contingency plans and (b) identify alternative suppliers to provide the public services to the NHS in (i) Oxfordshire and (ii) England that are currently provided by Carillion.

Stephen Barclay: Nationally, NHS Improvement has been helping the National Health Service trusts which are impacted by the liquidation of Carillion and will continue to work intensively with trusts over the coming days to minimise any disruption. This has included identifying areas of risk, assessing alternative supply options, setting up monitoring arrangements and liaising closely with the affected trusts. In Oxfordshire, one Trust is affected and working with NHS Improvement, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

NHS: Training

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to improve the opportunities for NHS staff to receive on-going education and training; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: Different organisations have a range of responsibilities for training and development. Individual employers have responsibility for supporting staff with courses which are required to fulfil duties to work in their organisation and core employment requirements. National funding through Health Education England (HEE) has historically been used to support development of the National Health Service workforce. HEE invests up to £300 million per year on supporting individuals in NHS employment achieve registered qualifications and a further £80 million on workforce transformation projects agreed locally, some of which has prioritised training courses for ongoing development. HEE is considering alternative models for traditional continual professional development funding; for example exploring routes for apprenticeships for post graduate qualifications that previously may have been funded directly at a national level.

NHS: Ancillary Staff

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of non-clinical, non-patient facing staff who are employed in the NHS; and what proportion of those staff were employed in the NHS in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire in the last 12 months.

Stephen Barclay: NHS Digital publishes workforce statistics and we have defined non-clinical, non-patient facing staff as those working in National Health Service Infrastructure support. As of September 2017 there are 164,584 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) infrastructure support staff working in the NHS in England. This is 2,848 more than in September 2016. As of September 2017 there are 1,285 FTE infrastructure support staff working in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in Gloucestershire. This is 55 more than in September 2016.

Arrowe Park Hospital: Waiting Lists

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many elective operations were cancelled at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral in each year since 2010.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not available in the format requested. NHS England publishes quarterly performance data on the number of last minute elective operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons. This is published at trust level rather than by individual hospital site and can be accessed via NHS England’s statistical work areas webpage at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancelled-elective-operations/cancelled-ops-data/

Medical Treatments: Technology

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policy of the Medical Technology Group’s 2017 report, Keeping Britain Working: how medical technology can help reduce the cost of ill health to the UK economy; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: We recognise the argument in the Medical Technology Groups report that more can and should be done to accelerate access to patients those medical technologies that have been evidenced to save money. Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability, published in November 2017, demonstrates that the Government recognises that new advances in technology offer more opportunities than ever before to improve outcomes for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions and that it is for the Government to help set the direction and stimulate good ideas. Further, the response to the Accelerated Access Review set out how partners across the health system will work together to ensure innovative technologies, including devices and diagnostics, can reach patients quickly at a price that the National Health Service can afford. As part of this, a new Accelerated Access Pathway will be introduced, to streamline regulatory and market access decisions, getting breakthrough products that we believe will be truly transformative to patients more quickly. A new Accelerated Access Collaborative chaired by Sir Andrew Witty, will develop and own the Accelerated Access Pathway which will be operational from April 2018. All products including medical technologies, devices and diagnostics will be eligible for selection. In addition to the new Pathway, we are providing funding of up to £86 million for United Kingdom firms to develop and test new technologies in the NHS. This could include innovations such as digital technologies to help patients manage their conditions from home instead of a hospital, or to develop new medicines.

Social Services: Finance

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to broaden the scope of NICE guidance to include social care spending.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that provides guidance on the prevention and treatment of ill health and the promotion of good health and social care. In developing all its guidance products, NICE takes into account the impact on publicly funded social care.

Medical Treatments

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the extent to which NHS organisations comply with NICE guidance.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that provides guidance on the prevention and treatment of ill health and the promotion of good health and social care. It produces a range of guidance products, including technology appraisals, guidelines and quality standards. National Health Service commissioners are legally required to fund treatments recommended by NICE in its technology appraisal and highly specialised technology evaluation guidance. This is reflected in the NHS Constitution as a right to NICE approved drugs and treatments. The Innovation Scorecard published by NHS Digital on a quarterly basis reports on the use of medicines and medical technologies recommended by NICE. The latest report is available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB30185 All NICE’s other guidance is not mandatory, although as authoritative best practice, the Government expects healthcare professionals to take it fully into account in the care and treatment of individual patients. NICE published an uptake and impact report relating to its guidance in March 2017, which is available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/Media/Default/About/what-we-do/Into-practice/measuring-uptake/nice-uptake-and-impact-report-mar-17.pdf

NHS: Logos

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 Jan 2018 to Question 121068, on NHS logos, who paid the fees on each occasion; and for what purpose those fees were paid.

Caroline Dinenage: The licences for nominal fees were issued to:- the British Broadcasting Corporation for use of the National Health Service logo in the programme Holby City;- ITV for use of the NHS logo in the programme Vera;- Quite Scary Films Limited for use of the NHS logo in the programme Lovesick; and- Eleventh Hour Films (Safe House) Limited for use of the NHS logo in the programme Safe House.

NHS: Logos

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 Jan 2018 to Question 121068, on NHS logos, what his Department’s policy is when the logo is used without permission.

Caroline Dinenage: The National Health Service logo should only be used by NHS organisations, or on services and information in which the NHS is involved. This is to protect the NHS from being seen as the source of materials which have not originated, or had any involvement, from the NHS. Cases of suspected misuse are investigated and where necessary, appropriate action is taken. Licences to use the NHS identity are occasionally granted to third parties. The decision to grant a licence is based on appropriate use of the NHS identity.

Health Services: Prisons

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much compensation was paid to prisoners in respect of prison health issues in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The following information is provided by NHS Resolution. These figures represent the amount of compensation paid to prisoners arising from negligent care or treatment provided by National Health Service organisations which are members of the NHS Resolution indemnity scheme. NHS Resolution members are not the sole providers of prison healthcare and hence the figures do not represent the total amount of compensation paid to prisoners. Payment YearDamages Paid (£)2008/0932,0002009/1056,7922010/1126,3892011/12201,5562012/13104,1052013/14617,4682014/15202,6272015/16471,9692016/17360,325 Damages payments made in year to 2016/17 where the specialty is Her Majesty’s Prison medical/dental as at 31 December 2017.

Health Services

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what processes his Department has in place to make sure that patients access the correct health services to reduce unnecessary A&E admissions.

Stephen Barclay: ‘Next Steps on the NHS Five Year Forward View’ sets out a plan to better integrate general practitioner (GP), community, mental health and hospital services and work more closely with home care and care homes so that people avoid hospital stays where possible. NHS England is driving forward health service transformation through new care models such as the Primary Care Home, which brings together a range of health and social care professionals to provide enhanced personalised and preventative care for their local community and through the Enhanced Health in Care Homes vanguards which are working with care homes to provide joined up primary, community and secondary care, and social care to residents of care and nursing homes, via a range of in reach services. The Better Care Fund (BCF) has incentivised local areas to work together better, pooling budgets to join up health and care services. As part of the BCF funding requirements, local areas have to produce data to show that they are reducing the number of unplanned acute admissions to hospital. By March 2019 the whole of England will be covered by a fully Integrated Urgent Care Service which will improve patient access to services that include evening and weekend appointments with GPs and a clinical advice and treatment service accessed through the NHS 111 telephone number to ensure that patients receive timely treatment advice.

Medical Records: Databases

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the use of blockchain technology on strengthening security for patient information and medical files.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department is currently assessing the potential benefits of Blockchain, which include offering patients more direct control over access to their medical records.

Junior Doctors

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will mandate junior doctors to work in the NHS for at least one year after completion of training.

Stephen Barclay: In March 2017, the Government consulted on the expansion of undergraduate medical education, confirming proposals to increase the number of places at English medical schools by 1,500, with students starting to take up additional places from September 2018. The consultation also explored ways to ensure a return on the sums of money the taxpayer invests in a doctor’s training, for example by asking them to serve the National Health Service for a number of years after they graduate. In August 2017, the Government response to the consultation confirmed that Health Education England would consider how best taxpayer investment can be maximised and to report back by spring 2018.

Tobacco

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 December 2017 to Question 120096, on Tobacco, what informal or other communication his Department has had with those groups; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The process for tendering for the grant scheme to support delivery of the new Tobacco Control Plan has yet to commence. Officials have informed representatives of Action on Smoking and Health on progress with this process, and have reminded them that any grant will be awarded on a competitive basis, in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines. All interested applicants will need to follow the terms and conditions of the tender after the invitation for bids has been announced.

Pharmacy

Sir Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the General Pharmaceutical Council's enforcement of standards for registered pharmacy premises; whether he has made an assessment of the effect of failure to apply such standards to pharmacy owners rather than only pharmacy professionals on the safety of patients; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of whether the failure to apply sanctions for standards for pharmacy premises has resulted in a disproportionate number of individual pharmacist registrants who have been held to account for professional standards which may have been impacted by the working environment created by pharmacy owners; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Department has not made any assessment of the effectiveness of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) as a regulator of pharmacy professionals and pharmacy premises. The Professional Standards Authority, which in its review of the GPhC’s performance in 2016-2017, found that the GPhC had met all of the standards for good regulation, including all of the standards for fitness to practise. Standards to safeguard the health, safety and wellbeing of patients and the public are set by the GPhC. It is important to note that there are very different legal frameworks for upholding these standards and how the regulator deals with these for pharmacy premises as compared to pharmacy professionals. 87% of the pharmacies inspected by the GPhC in 2016-17 were meeting all of the standards it sets. Any pharmacy not achieving all of the standards is required by the GPhC to implement an action plan to improve the services they provide. In this period the GPhC agreed 469 action plans with pharmacies to ensure they improved the services they provide, and 99% of them made the necessary improvements so that they were meeting all of the standards. In the same period 140 cases were made affecting an individual pharmacy professional’s registration.

Health Services: Weather

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with (a) hospice directors and (b) commissioning bodies on the use and capacity of hospices as part of the NHS Winter Resilience Plan.

Stephen Barclay: In July 2017, every local area was asked to develop plans to meet winter pressures. This included working with all local partners to consider issues such as demand and capacity, effective discharge and planning for peaks in demand. This local planning may have included consideration on the use and capacity of hospices depending on local circumstances.

NHS: Crimes of Violence

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many healthcare staff have been physically attacked or assaulted at (a) University Hospital Coventry and (b) other healthcare provider settings in Coventry.

Stephen Barclay: In 2015/16, the number of staff physically attacked or assaulted at:- University Hospital Coventry was 194 involving medical factors1 and 59 not involving medical factors; and- In other healthcare provider settings in Coventry2, the number was 3,355 involving medical factors and 277 not involving medical factors. Employers from across the National Health Service will collect data on physical assaults, and working alongside local police are responsible for protecting their staff. The Department is working with NHS England and NHS Improvement on new arrangements to support NHS and primary care employers to “…take vigorous and immediate action against those who abuse or attack the people who work for and make our NHS”. Notes:1Assaults involving medical factors are the number of physical assaults where the perpetrator did not know what they were doing, or did not know what they were doing was wrong due to medical illness, mental ill health, severe learning disability or treatment administered. 2The data, extracted from NHS Protect’s “Reported Physical Assaults data for 2015/16 for healthcare settings in Coventry includes University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust and West Midlands Ambulance Trust. Some of the trusts geographical areas cover more than just Coventry.

Carillion: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the value is of NHS contracts withCarillion in (a) West Midlands and (b) Coventry.

Stephen Barclay: Carillion is part of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) consortium currently contracted by Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust to undertake the £342 million building project for the new acute hospital on the Queen Elizabeth site in Birmingham and community facilities. NHS Improvement and the Department are working closely with Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and their private sector partners to minimise the impact of the Carillion liquidation and any resulting delay to completion. There are processes in place in the event of the administration or liquidation of a contractor part way through a build and the PFI companies and their lenders are now in active engagement. There is planning in place to ensure the delay is as minimal as possible. In addition to the NHS Trust, Carillion provide maintenance services to three NHS LIFT Companies in the region (LIFT Birmingham and Solihull; LIFT Sandwell; and LIFT Dudley) which provide a total of 20 primary care centres and facilities. The NHS LIFT Companies have their own contingency plans in place to source these maintenance services from other companies.

Influenza: Vaccination

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England on the quadrivalent flu vaccine; and what guidance NHS England has issued to GPs on prescribing that vaccine given its comparatively higher cost than the trivalent vaccine.

Steve Brine: The seasonal flu immunization programme is part of the National Health Service public health functions agreement. more commonly referred to as the Section 7A agreement discussed and agreed annually between the Department and NHS England. General Practitioners (GPs) and pharmacies are responsible for ordering and purchasing flu vaccines for the adult seasonal flu programme (eligible individuals aged 18 years and over) directly from manufacturers. The 2017/18 annual flu letter, published by the Department, Public Health England (PHE), and NHS England in March 2017 has information on vaccine supply and ordering and includes a table of vaccines that would be available for the 2017/18 flu immunisation programme. This letter is sent to all GP practices. In addition, clinical advice on seasonal flu vaccines is published in Immunisation against infectious disease (‘The Green Book’ ) by PHE. This was updated in October 2017.

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: Accident and Emergency Departments

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the most recent quarter for which data is available, what proportion of patients at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust's accident and emergency department were seen within four hours.

Stephen Barclay: This data is available via the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2017-18/

Heart Diseases: Females

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure equality of access to heart attack treatment for women.

Steve Brine: NHS England has advised that there is currently no evidence of gender difference in access to care for heart attacks in England. NHS England will continue to review the evidence so that it can support the National Health Service to ensure that all patients receive equal access to treatment for heart attacks. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for producing guidelines for best practice of treatment and care. NHS England expects providers to take account of NICE guidelines when delivering services.

Children: Social Media

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has conducted on the effect of social media on anxiety among under-16s.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department has not conducted research on the effect of social media on anxiety among under 16s.

Social Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Department will be responsible for producing the Government Green Paper on social care.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department has taken responsibility for producing the Government Green Paper on social care.

Department for International Development

Egypt and Libya: Land Mines

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is taking steps to assist with the mapping and disposal of World War Two-era mines in the Tobruk and El-Alamein regions; and if she will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The package of UK support to Libya announced in August 2017 includes £1 million this year to fund demining training and education across the country and increase the capacity of Libyan authorities to deal with explosive hazards. The UK has supported demining in Egypt since 2006 through multilateral funding along with other donors including Germany, Japan, New Zealand and the US. The projects have funded clearance of 130,446 acres of land around El Alamein, provision of artificial limbs for 479 land mine victims, and three mine risk education campaigns benefiting 160,000 individuals. The UK has previously provided maps of minefield locations to the Egyptian authorities. The UK currently has no programmes specifically targeting WWII ordnance in the Tobruk or El-Alamein regions.

Department for International Development: Beverage Containers

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate has been made of the number of single use disposable cups that are (a) used each year and (b) sent for recycling by her Department.

Alistair Burt: We do not keep or gather specific data related to used single use disposable cups or their recycling rates.

Gaza: Health Services

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department plans to support the maintenance of the operation of medical facilities during an electricity crisis in the Gaza strip.

Alistair Burt: The UK’s long term support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) assists UNRWA in their provision of basic services to 1.3 million people in Gaza, including basic healthcare. Additionally the UK is supporting approximately 1 million Gazans by providing clean water, rehabilitating sanitations facilities and promoting hygiene standards to stop the spread of disease through the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Disasters Emergency Committee: Charitable Donations

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the proportion of donations received by the Disasters Emergency Committee that are from people between the ages of 41 and 65.

Alistair Burt: The department does not hold or collate this information.

Disasters Emergency Committee: Charitable Donations

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the proportion of donations received by the Disasters Emergency Committee that are from people between the ages of 25 and 40.

Alistair Burt: The department does not hold or collate this information

Palestinians: Education

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Palestinian Authority and her Department, signed in 2014, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the findings and recommendations of the IMPACT-se report on the Palestinian Authority 2017 curriculum, published in October 2017.

Alistair Burt: Officials have met with IMPACT-se staff to discuss their report on the Palestinian Authority (PA) 2017 curriculum. The report made some concerning allegations which we are currently assessing. The UK government is working with the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education to support a high quality education including through its curriculum. Our partnership with the PA includes a commitment from the Palestinian leadership to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to tackle language and actions that could incite violence or hatred. We continue to urge them to uphold this principle. The UK strongly condemns all forms of violence and deplores incitement.

Disasters Emergency Committee: Charitable Donations

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the proportion of donations received by the Disasters Emergency Committee that are from people over the age of 65.

Alistair Burt: The department does not hold or collate this information.

Somalia: International Assistance

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on a UK aid response to (a) the severe drought and (b) the continuing conflicts in Somalia.

Harriett Baldwin: My department is in close contact with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in Somalia and at headquarter level, on both of these issues. The UK played a leading role in the response to the 2017 drought, making UK Aid available early on and mobilising early contributions from other partners, and we are working closely to ensure that the effective response continues into 2018.

Somalia: International Assistance

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking, alongside her international counterparts, to secure a long-term solution on (a) food security and (b) general stability in Somalia.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK hosted an international Conference on Somalia in London in May 2017 at which agreements were reached to work to improve security, strengthen Somalia’s political foundations, and help the economy recover in order to put Somalia on the path to peace and prosperity and break the cycle of persistent humanitarian crises. Our efforts in Somalia – including through the UK aid programme – are designed to support progress in all these areas. The UK played a leading role in responding to the 2017 drought and related food security crisis, and will ensure these efforts continue into 2018.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent representations she has made to the Bangladesh Government to give UK humanitarian agencies access to Bangladesh to support displaced Rohingya people.

Alistair Burt: On the Secretary of state’s recent visit to Bangladesh in November 2017, she discussed the issue of NGO access to provide support to displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh with the UN and partners in Dhaka. The issue was raised with the government of Bangladesh by FCO Ministers on their joint visit last September, and is raised regularly with the government by officials from the British High Commission in Bangladesh.

Prosperity Fund: Disclosure of Information

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to paragraph 4.11 of UK aid: tackling global challenges in the national interest, published in November 2015, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the transparency standards of the Prosperity Fund are ranked as good or very good in the international Aid Transparency Index.

Alistair Burt: The Prosperity Fund, which is led and managed by the National Security Secretariat in Cabinet Office, is committed to meeting the government target of ‘good’ on the International Aid Transparency Index by 2020. The Fund is working closely with DFID policy and Transparency teams, benefiting from their experience and expertise and the International Aid Transparency Initiative to ensure it meets standards for transparency.The Fund has already begun working towards this target, publishing its first Annual Review in 2017, alongside a data release on spend for 2016/17. It will continue to increase the amount of information published on spend and programmes as it becomes available.

Prosperity Fund: Disclosure of Information

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy that there there will be no further increases in spending from the Prosperity Fund until that fund is ranked good or very good in the International Aid Transparency Index.

Alistair Burt: The Prosperity Fund is committed to meeting the government target of ‘good’ on the International Aid Transparency Index by 2020. The Fund was announced in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review; no further allocations have been made beyond the initial £1.2bn allocated over the Fund’s six year lifetime. The Fund is managed and led by the National Security Secretariat in Cabinet Office. Any future funding would be agreed across government following the appropriate procedures.

UNESCO: Standards

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with UNESCO on progress with its performance improvement plan.

Alistair Burt: Secretary of State for International Development spoke to Mme Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director General, within two weeks of being appointed as Secretary of State. Mme Azoulay assured Secretary of State of the seriousness with which she is approaching the task of reforming UNESCO and confirmed her willingness to work with the UK on this. The Secretary of State has also written to Mme Azoulay outlining UK priorities for UNESCO reform, based on the 2017 performance improvement plan.

Burma: Thailand

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to internally-displaced people and refugees on the Thailand-Burma border.

Alistair Burt: Since 2012 DFID has provided up to £16.2 million of support for internally-displaced people and refugees on the Thai-Burma border. This programme addresses basic humanitarian needs and equips refugees and displaced people with the knowledge and skills for return and reintegration to Burma.

Department for Education

Office for Students

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria were used to assess the suitability of candidates for the board of the Office for Students.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 requires that the Office for Students must have a Chair, a Chief Executive Officer, a Director for Fair Access and Participation and between seven and 12 ordinary members. Schedule 1 of the Act sets out criteria for ministers to have regard to in making appointments.

Children: Day Care

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what provisions are in place to enable access to 30 hours of free childcare for parents working unusual and anti-social hours.

Nadhim Zahawi: The government is committed to ensuring that hardworking parents can access the flexible high-quality childcare they need, whilst protecting the wellbeing of children and ensuring a degree of stability for providers. Parents can stretch the offer to cover 52 weeks of the year and can take sessions over the weekend to cover a variety of working patterns. Our statutory guidance states that local authorities should ensure that parents and providers are aware that, subject to the standards set out in the guidance, there is no requirement that free places must be taken on or delivered on particular days of the week or at particular times of the day. They should also support parents to identify providers who can offer places on the days and at the times needed by the parent.

Pupils: Dyslexia

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to assist young people diagnosed with dyslexia to improve their writing skills for their A-level exams.

Nadhim Zahawi: The reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) system introduced in 2014 benefit all children and young people who have SEND, including those with dyslexia. Building on 2013-16 funding, the Department for Education is funding the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) and partners in 2017-18, with £500,000 to facilitate better support for children with dyslexia. BDA resources include information on speech recognition software which converts speech to text.The development of writing skills is already a fundamental part of the school curriculum. To support improvements in areas where standards are currently lower than average, we will be setting up a new Centre of Excellence for Literacy Teaching and a national network of 35 English Hubs.Exam boards have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled students who because of their disability would otherwise be at a substantial disadvantage when demonstrating their skills, knowledge and understanding in an assessment. Such reasonable adjustments may include having extra time, a scribe, reader, overlays, different fonts or size of fonts or the use of word processor. Reasonable adjustments are made for many thousands of students each year. The exam boards use an online system to streamline the process for seeking a reasonable adjustment.

Children: Day Care

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has plans to extend 30 hours of free childcare to the parents of two-year-old children; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: We are in the first full year of rolling out 30 hours for working parents of three- and four-year olds. Our immediate focus is on effective delivery for the spring and summer terms, and on evaluating the policy during its first year. We are not currently planning to make any significant changes to the policy.The government currently offers disadvantaged two-year-olds 15 hours a week of free early learning to help ensure they get the best start in life. This is in response to evidence which tells us that children from disadvantaged backgrounds, can be up to 19 months behind their better off peers in their learning by the time they start school[1]. High-quality early learning from the age of two can help to narrow that gap, helping those children to achieve better GCSE results and ultimately earn higher wages[2].[1] Toth, K et al (2015) Subject to background. Sutton Trust http://www.suttontrust.com/researcharchive/subject-to-background/[2] Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj, I., & Taggart, B. (2014). EPPE Students’ educational and developmental outcomes at age 16. London. Retrieved from http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/20873/1/RR354_-_Students__educational_and_developmental_outcomes_at_age_16.pdf

Carillion

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the number of schools which have contracts with Carillion plc; and what the value of those contracts is.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has assessed the feasibility of maintaining services provided by Carillion plc to schools by offering directly to employ former Carillion staff at schools.

Nick Gibb: Our priority is to ensure schools can continue to operate as usual. Government is supporting the official receiver, so that services to schools and other public services can continue to be delivered. Decisions about the future of individual services will be addressed in due course and schools and other customers will be kept informed.Local authorities and academy trusts are responsible for their contracts. The Department has, however, worked with local authorities and academy trusts to make sure they have robust contingency plans in place and that these have been actioned. In some cases, the Department understands that planning has included the option of bringing services in-house. Information available to the department indicates that the number of local authority and academy trust schools, covered by catering, facilities management or other service contracts is relatively low. The Department is continuing to monitor the situation and will work with schools to help minimise any disruption for pupils.

Schools: Sports

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make it a condition of any new school funding agreement that the school in question must make its sports facilities available for public use outside the school day.

Nick Gibb: Sports facilities in schools can provide excellent opportunities for communities to be active and take part in sport. Many schools offer use of their facilities for community use outside of the school day: approximately two thirds (62%) of school sports facilities across England are now available for some form of community use. The Department updated the Governance handbook for academies, multi-academy trusts and maintained schools in 2017 to include advice on the use of extended activities and community services, such as sports facilities. Sport England has developed an online resource ‘Use Our School’ to support schools in opening their facilities to the community and keeping them open.

Pupil Premium: Swindon

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much schools in (a) North Swindon constituency and (b) Swindon have received in Pupil Premium in each year since it was established.

Nadhim Zahawi: Pupil premium funding for all schools, parliamentary constituencies and local authorities in England and in total can be found at the links below.2017/18: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2017-to-2018.2016/17: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2016-to-2017.2015/16: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2015-to-2016-allocations.2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2014-to-2015-final-allocations. 2013/14: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2013-to-2014-final-allocation-tables. 2012/13: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123124929/http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/settlement2013pupilpremium/a00200465/schools-funding-settlement-2012-13. 2011/12: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123124929/http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/settlement2012pupilpremium/a0075963/pupil-premium-2011-12.

Schools: Sports

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much schools in (a) North Swindon constituency, (b) Swindon and (c) England have received in Sport Premium in each year since it was established.

Nadhim Zahawi: Physical Education and Sport Premium funding for all schools in England can be found for the academic years at the links below.2017/18: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pe-and-sport-premium-funding-allocations-for-2017-to-2018.2016/17: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pe-and-sport-premium-funding-conditions-for-2016-to-2017.2015/16: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pe-and-sport-premium-conditions-of-grant-for-2015-to-2016.2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pe-and-sport-premium-allocations-for-2014-to-2015.2013/14: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pe-and-sport-grant-2013-to-2014-allocation-breakdown.

Department For Education: Ministerial Powers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many ministerial directions were issued to his Department in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017.

Nadhim Zahawi: No ministerial directions were issued to the department’s accounting officer in 2015, 2016 or 2017.

Children's Centres

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2017 to Question 118316, on what date work was last carried out on the children's centres consultation.

Nadhim Zahawi: The work referenced in the answer to PQ 118316 as well as that referenced in PQ 118701 is being carried out by Department for Education officials in the course of business. PQ 118701 can be viewed here: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-12-11/118701/.

Children: Day Care

Ms Marie Rimmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 1(1) of the Childcare Act 2016, what steps he is taking to ensure that childcare is available free of charge for disabled three and four-year-old children for a period equivalent to 30 hours in each of 38 weeks in any year.

Nadhim Zahawi: I refer the hon. Member for St Helens and Whiston, to the answer I gave on 19 January 2018 to Question 122942: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-01-16/122942/.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to provide updated funding formulas for maintained nursery schools.

Nadhim Zahawi: Local authorities are responsible for funding maintained nursery schools in their area. We are providing supplementary funding of approximately £60 million a year to enable local authorities to protect maintained nursery school funding until 2019-20. Budgets after 2019-20 will be set at the next Spending Review.

Social Services: Children

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much money his Department has allocated to the Partners in Practice programme.

Nadhim Zahawi: There are currently seven Partners in Practice. These authorities are: Achieving for Children (Richmond and Kingston), Hampshire, Islington, Lincolnshire, Leeds, North Yorkshire, and Triborough (Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Hammersmith and Fulham). The Department for Education has invested £47 million into these seven Partners in Practice from 2016-20. Additionally, ministers have committed up to £20 million for improvement work for children’s social care for 2018-20. A proportion of this funding will fund the expansion of the programme with more local authorities joining the Partners in Practice programme from April 2018.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2018 to Question 121204, on Education: Finance, which local authorities have made a written request to disapply the School and Early Years Finance (England) regulations 2017 or the School and Early Years Finance (England) regulations 2018 for the purpose of making deductions or variations to funding for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Nadhim Zahawi: For the 2017 to 2018 funding year there were requests from 23 local authorities to display the School and Early Years Finance (England) regulations 2017 for reasons classified as relating to variations for children with special education needs and disabilities.To date for the 2018 to 2019 funding year, 44 requests have been received from 41 local authorities, requesting movement of funding from direct schools funding to budgets for special education needs and disabilities (SEND). A number of these requests have since been withdrawn and 26 applications have been considered. A further 12 requests have been received from eight local authorities for non-block movement variations for children with SEND.

Ministry of Justice

Community Orders: Females

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2018 to Question 120661, on Community Orders: Females, how many women received a community sentence by status of (a) foreign national and (b) British national in each of the last five whole reporting years; and what the offence category for each of those nationalities was in that time period.

Dr Phillip Lee: The answer we provided for PQ 120661 still stands: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-12-20/120661/. The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This centrally held information does not include all the specific circumstances of each case, such as a defendant’s nationality. To collect and collate the information required would therefore incur a disproportionate cost.

Young Offender Institutions: Crimes of Violence

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of violence in Young Offenders Institutions in England and Wales.

Dr Phillip Lee: We are committed to improving youth custody so that it is safer and rehabilitates young offenders. That is why we are investing £64 million as part of our work to reform youth custody. This includes expanding frontline staff capacity in public-sector Young Offender Institutions by 20% and introducing a new youth justice specialist role. To ensure a grip on safety and performance a new Youth Custody Service has been created, headed by an Executive Director who is accountable to Ministers. This is the first time in the department’s history that such a role has existed and this demonstrates our commitment to improving youth custody. We are working with NHS England, the Welsh Government and Youth Offending Teams to strengthen the provision of mental health care. We are also investing in the development of Enhanced Support Units to provide a better environment for young people with the most complex needs. The first of these is now operational at Feltham YOI. We are also developing two new Secure Schools, one in the North West and one in the South East of England. Secure schools will be run by child-focused providers who can best meet the needs of the children and young people, who will be able to engage fully with integrated care, health and education services, and with physical activity.

Carillion

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to provide for the continuity of services supplied by Carillion plc to prisons.

Rory Stewart: Carillion continues to deliver their prison facilities management contracts and the Commercial and Contract Management Directorate continue to work closely with them. We are discussing future arrangements with the appointed Official Receiver.

Young Offenders: Solitary Confinement

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of instances of a people aged 18 or under being held in solitary confinement in the youth secure estate in the last 12 months.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his Department's policy is on the use of solitary confinement within the youth secure estate.

Dr Phillip Lee: Young people in the youth secure estate are some of the most vulnerable people in society and their safety and welfare is our highest priority. We do not use solitary confinement. Young people can be removed from association under careful control where they will not be permitted to associate with other young people. Any decision to remove a young person from association is subject to regular review and a range of safeguarding measures are in place to ensure appropriate oversight of their care. There are careful limits placed on the length of time for which young people can be removed from association without review of the decision to remove. Young offenders cannot be removed from association as a punishment.

Prisoners: Solitary Confinement

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect on mental health of prisoners of being held in solitary confinement.

Dr Phillip Lee: The MoJ has not carried out any independent recent assessment of the effect on mental health of prisoners being held in solitary confinement and does not hold prisoners in solitary confinement. MoJ is aware of International evidence and learning on the subject and has utilised this in development of the policy and process applying to the segregation of prisoners under Prison Rules. This includes a range of safeguards to protect mental health and wellbeing including: completion by a doctor or registered nurse of an initial segregation health screen within two hours of a prisoner being segregated, daily visits by a member of healthcare and doctor visits at least every three days. In addition, a prisoner’s segregation must be reviewed at least every 14 days by a multi disciplinary Segregation Review Board, chaired by an operational manager and with input from Healthcare and psychology and mental health in-reach teams as necessary.

Ministry of Justice: Ministerial Powers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many ministerial directions were issued to his Department in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017.

Dr Phillip Lee: No ministerial directions have been issued in either 2015, 2016 or 2017.

Judiciary: Pensions

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the proposed changes to part-time judicial pensions.

Lucy Frazer: The Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) Regulations (the 2017 Regulations) established the Fee-Paid Judicial Pension Scheme on 1 April 2017. We are proposing to amend the 2017 Regulations to clarify the periods for which specified judicial office holders are eligible to receive a pension.

Legal Ombudsman: Training

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what training staff of the Legal Ombudsman are required to complete.

Lucy Frazer: All operational Legal Ombudsman staff complete a comprehensive induction. This includes training on:The business process;scheme rules;service principles and values;the legal process of the scheme;jurisdiction of the scheme;investigation planning;evidence collection;quality assurance; andcase decisions. In addition, all staff receive IT, health and safety, equality and diversity and protecting information training annually. There is also a wide range of additional training and professional development available. For example, the Dispute Resolution qualification from Queen Margaret University. Year one is at Post-Graduate Certificate level; year two at Post-Graduate Diploma level and then a further year converts it to an MSc.

Legal Ombudsman: Complaints

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice,  how many complaints the Legal Ombudsman has received about its service in the year 2016-2017.

Lucy Frazer: The Legal Ombudsman received 87,193 contacts (calls, letters and e-mails), and accepted 7,223 legal services jurisdiction cases and 2,290 claims management jurisdiction cases for investigation in 2016-2017. In the same period it received 118 complaints about its service. This represents about 1% of its caseload.

Prisoners: Mental Health Services

Layla Moran: What steps his Department is taking to improve support for prisoners with mental health conditions.

Sarah Jones: What steps his Department is taking to help treat prisoners with mental health problems.

Dr Phillip Lee: All prisoners are assessed by clinical staff when they arrive in prison. If mental health needs are identified, prisoners are referred for treatment or follow up assessment.Safety and security are crucial to supporting better mental health in prisons. We committed to an increase of 2,500 prison officers by the end of 2018, and have recruited 1,255 to date, putting us on track.Additional staff will enable us to provide dedicated officers for offenders who will be better placed to recognise and react to changes in behaviour or mental well-being.All staff in prisons will receive revised mental health awareness training and, so far, 11,000 have started this training.

Family Courts

Rachael Maskell: What steps he is taking to reduce the number of cases in which people are repeatedly compelled to appear in a family court due to action by a former partner.

Lucy Frazer: Using court processes to further abuse is completely unacceptable. Family courts have the power to act if they see evidence of this.The court can strike out any action it views as an abuse of process or issue an order restricting the litigant’s ability to continue with further applications or claims.New family court rules were introduced in November to make sure vulnerable court users get the support they need in the courtroom.

Victim Support Schemes: Staff

Fiona Onasanya: What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of victim support officers.

Dr Phillip Lee: Victim Liaison Officers play a key role in supporting victims of crime.The National Probation Service recently reviewed the number of Victim Liaison Officers. The work was completed in November 2017.The review we have conducted on the impact of probation reform on the Victim Liaison Officer service has allowed us to robustly assess demand and has led to an increase from 169 to 189 Victim Liaison Officers.

Victim Support Schemes

Matt Rodda: What assessment he has made of the effect of reforms to the National Probation Service on the operation of the victim contact scheme.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Victim Contact Scheme is a fundamental part of the government’s commitment to victims of crime.The National Probation Service continue to monitor the impact of probation reform on its services. As part of this it reviews Victim Liaison Officer resource levels.All victim contact was allocated to the National Probation Service following reforms to probation: the remit and scope of the Victim Liaison Officers remained the same.The review we have conducted on the impact of probation reform on the Victim Liaison Officer service has allowed us to robustly assess demand and has led to an increase from 169 to 189 Victim Liaison Officers.

Courts: Modernisation

Dr Caroline Johnson: What steps his Department is taking to modernise the courts system.

Lucy Frazer: We remain committed to our £1b modernisation programme, which has already started improving life for those who use and need our courts.There are already a number of active pilots, including trialling the online filing of applications, which are saving applicants significant time.

Young Offender Institutions

Ms Marie Rimmer: What recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of violence and self-harm in young offenders institutions.

Dr Phillip Lee: The safety of young people in custody is our highest priority.Current levels of violence and self-harm within the youth estate are too high. That is why we are investing £64 million to reform youth custody, to reduce violence and improve outcomes for young people upon their release.This includes expanding frontline staff capacity in public-sector Young Offender Institutions by 20%, introducing a new youth justice specialist role, creating Enhanced Support Units for young people with the most complex needs and developing two secure schools – one in the North West and one in the South East of England.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Public Buildings: Disability

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the National Planning Policy Framework to stipulate that buildings with public access have changing places in disabled toilets.

Dominic Raab: The National Planning Policy Framework is supportive of good and inclusive design. This is important, given the government's commitment to building successful and attractive communities. The Framework defines inclusive design as ‘designing the built environment, including buildings and their surrounding spaces, to ensure that they can be accessed and used by everyone’.Specific requirements relating to access to and use of new buildings, including buildings to which the public has access, are set out in Part M of Schedule 1 of the Building Regulations. Statutory guidance, which supports these requirements, set out in Approved Document M, Volume 2 – buildings other than dwellings, states that toilet accommodation needs to be suitable, not only for disabled people, but for all people who use the building.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has commissioned research into the effectiveness of the guidance which supports the Building Regulations’ requirements relating to access to and use of non-domestic buildings. We will be taking the research into account in considering whether any changes need to be made to the guidance on the provision of toilet facilities for people with disabilities.

Devolution: Mayors

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which regions have agreed or are developing plans for devolved government without the need for an elected mayor.

Jake Berry: My Department engages continually with different areas, councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships right across the country, on their ambitions and ideas for driving economic growth and productivity and improving local governance. We have been clear that to secure devolution, areas need to make a significant offer to Government on how they will ensure strong, strategic and accountable leadership across a clear economic geography. To date, in line with this, the most ambitious deals have involved the establishment of directly-elected combined authority mayors. However, as shown by the devolution deal agreed in Cornwall in July 2015 a directly elected Mayor is not always a condition.The Government’s manifesto committed to "providing clarity across England on what devolution means for different administrations so all authorities operate in a common framework". We aim to provide local areas with this clarity on how best to take forward their local growth and local industrial strategy ambitions over the coming months, and recognise that mayoral governance will not be suitable in all areas.

Local Government: Devolution

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of devolving (a) tax raising powers, (b) business and skills funding, (c) housing and planning, (d) transport, (e) health and (f) policing and criminal justice to the (i) Mayor of London and London Assembly, (ii) Greater Manchester, (iii) Greater Birmingham and (iv) Liverpool City Region; and if he will make a statement.

Jake Berry: The six city region mayors elected for the first time in May 2017 are already having a visible impact in their local areas, as well as on the national debate. Directly elected Mayors provide a single point of accountability for residents and are ambassadors for their areas, with significant potential to boost the profile of their city regions, and help attract inward investment.Through devolution, the government has sought to strengthen local leadership and institutions, and devolve powers and funding away from Whitehall, so that they are exercised at the right spatial geography.

Housing: Construction

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is working with combined authorities in delivering new housing schemes.

Dominic Raab: The Government is working with all of the combined authorities to support ambitious and innovative plans for new homes, and a more strategic approach to planning for homes and infrastructure. Specific housing investment measures have also been agreed already as part of devolution deals with the mayoral combined authorities in Greater Manchester and Cambridgeshire & Peterborough.

Local Government Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) county and (b) district councils which have overspent on their budgets in each of the last three financial years.

Rishi Sunak: Local authorities may incur more expenditure than they have budgeted for a range of reasons, including increases in demand for services and unforeseeable events. This is why every local authority is required to maintain a level of unallocated reserve commensurate with sound financial risk management.The Department collects and publishes individual local authority expenditure data for both budget and outturn, and these are available at www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing.

Homelessness: Portsmouth

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will include Portsmouth in funding allocations for Housing First pilot schemes to reduce homelessness.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: At budget the Chancellor announced £28 million of funding to pilot the Housing First approach for some of the country’s most entrenched rough sleepers. The pilots will cover 3 major regions of England. The West Midlands Combined Authority, Greater Manchester, and the Liverpool City Region.The pilots will gather data on the effectiveness of Housing First and will inform any wider roll-out of the approach to other parts of the country.

Christianity

Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps have been taken by the Government in response to the recommendation in paragraph 6.2.4 of the Council of Europe Resolution 2036 (2015) on enabling Christians to fully participate in public life.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Britain has a proud tradition of religious tolerance, within the law. The Government is committed to creating a strong and integrated society in which hatred and prejudice are not tolerated and in which all people are free to express their religious identity and live without fear of harassment and crime.The Government is committed to ensuring that people are protected against discrimination because of religion or belief, and that they are able to exercise the right to hold and manifest their beliefs in a reasonable manner. We support people’s right to conduct their lives in accordance with the Christian faith (as well as other faiths and beliefs) providing this does not unlawfully interfere with the rights of others.More generally, the Government greatly values the vital role that Christian organisations – and individual Christians - have in our society and the participation they have in national life, inspiring a great number of people to get involved in public service and providing help to those in need, as well as acting as a moral beacon. Our Christian heritage is something that we can all be proud of.

Churches: Crimes of Violence

Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect on community and inter-faith relations of attacks on churches in the UK including Christ Church on Infirmary Road in Londonderry on 12 September 2017, St John's Church in Keynsham in September 2017, Holy Trinity Church in Back Hamlet in August 2017, St James’ Church in Dursley in August 2017, St Mary and St Nicolas Church in August 2017, Airdrie Clarkston Parish Church in August 2017, All Saints Parish Church on Church Street, Gainsborough on 26 July 2017, St Winifred RC Church, Bootle in July 2017, Church of the Venerable Bede in July 2017, St Thomas’s Church in Stopsley in July 2017, St Botolph’s Church in Skidbrooke in July 2017, Murston Old Church in July 2017, St Editha's Church, in Tamworth in June 2017, Castlemilk Evangelical Church of Christ in April 2017, Wylde Green United Reformed Church in Sutton Coldfield in March 2017, St Faith’s Church in Lincoln in March 2017, Blackford Parish Church in February 2017, St. Mary’s Church, Pateley Bridge in January 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We condemn in the strongest terms attacks on all faith institutions as we are well aware of the impact this can have on inter-faith relations. The Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme is one of the key commitments contained within 'Action Against Hate' - the UK Government's plan for tackling hate crime. The Home Office has committed £2.4 million to the scheme over three years. The Government provides funding for security measures to places of worship that have been subject to, or vulnerable to a hate crime attack. The fund has received a number of applications from churches. Applications for 2018/19 will be opening in due course.

Religious Freedom

Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps have been taken by the Government in response to the recommendation in paragraph 6.6 of the Council of Europe Resolution 2036 (2015) on combatting and preventing cases of violence, discrimination and intolerance and on carrying out effective investigations in order to avoid any sense of impunity among the perpetrators.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government takes all forms of hate crime seriously including hate crime perpetrated against Christians. 'Action against Hate' the UK Government's plan for tackling hate crime specifically mentions anti-Christian Hate Crime and the work we are doing to prevent attacks against all places of worship including churches. We are supporting work through the police online reporting mechanism True Vision to encourage victims of anti-Christian hate crime to report incidents to the police. We would expect all incidents of hate crime to be investigated effectively and perpetrators brought to justice. We also support a number of projects in schools including the Anne Frank Trust which use Anne’s diary to educate young people about all forms of prejudice and intolerance.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2017 to Question 111729, on what dates Royal Parks expressed its support for locating in Victoria Tower Gardens (a) the Holocaust Memorial and (b) the Learning Centre; and if he will place in the Library copies of the communications from Royal Parks indicating that support.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Royal Parks first expressed their support for locating the Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens at a meeting on 2 December 2015. The Parks’ support for the memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens was repeated in letters dated 15 March 2017, 7 April 2017 and 15 September 2017. Concerns were raised in these letters about the proposed learning centre. These letters have now been placed in the Library of the House.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2017 to Question 117268, on National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service, what conclusions the Government drew on visitor numbers to the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre from its comparative assessment of visitor numbers to Holocaust memorials around the world; and if he will place a copy of that comparative assessment in the Library.

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2017 to Question 106183, concerning the number of visitors to the proposed Holocaust Memorial, if he will place in the Library a copy of the assessment commissioned from Barker Langham.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Assessments of the number of visitors to the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre are still being developed as part of the early stages of the design process. Full details will be published as part of the planning application.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will place in the Library, a copy of the letter from Lord Feldman of October 2015 proposing that the Holocaust Memorial be located in Victoria Tower Gardens, and a copy of his Department’s response of November 2015.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: A copy of the letter of 26 October 2015 from Lord Andrew Feldman to the then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the Rt Hon John Whittingdale, proposing that that the Holocaust Memorial be located in Victoria Tower Gardens has been placed in the Library of the House together with the Rt Hon John Whittingdale's reply.

Carillion

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to maintain services supplied by Carillion plc to local councils.

Rishi Sunak: Continuity of services is the Government and local councils’ top priority. All public sector services continue to be delivered and minimal disruption to public services has been reported.We have been working through the Local Government Association over the past few weeks to ensure that affected English local authorities had robust contingency plans in place to manage the impacts of Carillion failing.Councils have now put those plans into action, and will continue to deliver all public sector services. And all staff engaged on these public sector contracts will continue to be paid.

Fines

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many civil penalties have been used by local authorities since their introduction in April 2017.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 18 January 2018



The Housing and Planning Act 2016 provides new powers for local authorities to impose a civil penalty of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution for a range of offences under the Housing Act 2004. These powers came into force on 6 April 2017. The Government does not collect data on the number of civil penalties issued

Private Rented Housing: Licensing

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to extend mandatory licencing schemes for landlords in the private rented sector.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 18 January 2018



The Government proposes to extend the scope of mandatory houses in multiple occupation (HMO) licensing, so that a licence is required for HMOs with five or more occupiers. We published our response to our HMO reforms consultation in December 2017, and we plan to lay the necessary regulations before Parliament shortly with a view to bringing them into force (subject to approval) in October 2018.

Ministers: Portsmouth

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of previous Ministers for Portsmouth; and whether the Government plans to appoint such a Minister.

Jake Berry: The Minister for Portsmouth role was created in January 2014 to support the city through the economic challenges it immediately faced following the closure of the shipyard.The Minister was successful in securing additional funding for the city. For example, Government created a £5 million fund to help companies develop cutting-edge technology for unmanned boats and submarines, and invested £6.5 million to set up the headquarters of Ben Ainslie Racing. In addition, the Minister progressed the Tipner Ranges-Horsea East transfer as part of Portsmouth’s City Deal, creating 3,700 permanent jobs and helping to boost Portsmouth’s economy.Portsmouth is of the utmost importance to England. The Government will continue to work alongside local leaders to ensure Portsmouth and the Solent has a strong voice in Government.

Homelessness

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2018 to Question 118353, for what reasons the homelessness funding announced in Budget 2016 is not being made available until 2018-19 in parts of England outside London.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Holding answer received on 19 January 2018



It is our priority to ensure that the Move On Fund meets the needs of those who are homeless and victims of domestic abuse. As such the Department is taking time to tailor the design of the programme to work for the rest of England.

Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2018 to Question 121269, how much of the £1.2 billion of funding for the Starter Home Land Fund has been spent to date.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 19 January 2018



I refer the Rt Hon Member to my previous answer (121269).

Grenfell Tower: Fires

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities have requested the Government for assistance as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire; how many of those authorities have requested financial assistance in the form of increased housing revenue account borrowing capacity; and how many such authorities requesting such assistance have had their requests granted (a) in part or (b) fully.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 19 January 2018



The safety of residents should be local authorities' number one priority.36 local authorities have been in touch with the Department in regards to fire safety funding. 10 of these have been asked to provide further information about the specifics of the building safety work required, and 4 of these 10 have returned this information.We are in constructive discussions with these local authorities in regards to what financial flexibilities we can offer them in order for them to complete essential fire safety work to make their specific buildings safe. This might include increasing Housing Revenue Account borrowing, but we will also consider other flexibilities, including transfers from the general fund.We have not yet completed this process for any local authority but the fact that discussions are on-going does not stop local authorities from getting on with essential fire safety works.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the fire safety of high-rise cladding material other than aluminium composite material following the failure of such cladding on the Barley Mow Estate in Tower Hamlets.

Dominic Raab: The government’s independent expert panel has considered cladding material other than aluminium composite material (ACM) and their advice on external wall systems that do not incorporate ACM was published on 11 December 2017. This advice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-for-building-owners-external-wall-systems-that-do-not-incorporate-acm.The expert panel has also advised on safety considerations arising from wind-loading of external wall insulation systems incorporating render or brick-slip finishes. This advice was published on 11 December 2017 and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-for-building-owners-external-wall-insulation-ewi-systems-with-a-render-or-brick-slip-finish.Government is commissioning further research to support further understanding in the industry of the fire performance of external wall systems. This will be developed with a view to publication in summer 2018.Finally, to help building owners and industry to understand what other cladding systems may be safe on high-rise buildings, the Building Research Establishment has published a list of historical data on cladding systems which have passed a large-scale BS8414 test.

Leasehold: Ground Rent

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the ministerial statement HCWS384 of 21 December 2017, what steps he plans to take to prevent onerous ground rents in already existing leasehold properties.

Dominic Raab: The Government response to the consultation on ‘ Tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market’ set out a range of measures to cut out unfair and abusive practices within the leasehold system. This included introducing legislation to prohibit the development of new build leasehold houses, other than in exceptional circumstances, and restricting ground rents in newly established leases of houses and flats to a peppercorn (zero financial value).For existing leaseholders, the Government wants to see developer compensation schemes going further and faster, with support extended to all those with onerous ground rents, including second hand buyers and for customers to be proactively contacted. We will be keeping a close eye on progress and will consider measures that could be pursued to take action if necessary.We want to make it easier for existing leaseholders to exercise their right to buy their freehold, or extend their lease, for this to be faster, fairer and cheaper, and to be available as soon as possible.

Supported Housing: Finance

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's funding for supported housing policy paper, published in October 2017, what policies the Government is putting in place to ensure funding for non-statutory supported housing is sustained in the long-term.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The government is committed to a long-term sustainable funding model for supported housing as set out in the policy statement published on 31 October.We are consulting on this model. The consultation closes on 23 January 2018.

Sleeping Rough

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 27 December 2017 to Question 120298, what information his Department holds on the number of people that have died while sleeping rough in each of the last seven years.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: This department does not collect data on deaths of people sleeping rough. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why Government has committed to halving rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminating it altogether by 2027. We have announced a new Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce, chaired by the Secretary of State, which will drive forward the implementation of a cross-Government strategy to tackle this issue.We have allocated over £1 billion through to 2020 to prevent and reduce all forms of homelessness including piloting a Housing First approach for some of the most entrenched rough sleepers.

Housing Associations: Tower Hamlets

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Social Housing Regulator has taken to protect tenants of Old Ford Housing Association in Tower Hamlets as a result of its downgrading of Circle, now Clarion Housing in December 2016.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 19 January 2018



In December 2016 the Regulator issued a regulatory notice setting out its finding that Circle had failed to provide a cost effective repairs service. Since Circle merged with Affinity Sutton on 29 November 2016 to become Clarion Housing Group, Clarion is responsible for addressing the issues set out in the regulatory notice.The Regulator has engaged with Clarion to monitor delivery of their action plan which sets out how they will address the issues identified in the Notice. Details of the notice may be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/579597/20161220_Regulatory_Notice_-__Clarion_HG.pdf

Housing Associations: Tower Hamlets

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, under what circumstances he would intervene in a case handled by the Social Housing Regulator in the event that there was reason to believe it was failing in its responsibility to ensure that tenants are protected from serious detriment by the performance of their housing association.

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many times the Social Housing Regulator has found that there has been serious detriment to tenants by the poor performance of a housing association.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 19 January 2018



Registered Social housing providers are regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing. The Regulator of Social Housing is an independent Regulator that has a number of tools available allowing it to take action where there is evidence that a registered provider is not meeting the requirements of its Standards and that this failure is leading to serious detriment to tenants. In keeping with its statutory objectives the regulator seeks to work with providers to address issues raised and only takes formal action where provider is failing to address the concerns. If tenants of Registered Providers are not satisfied with the way the Regulator of Social Housing has handled their case, they will have to access the Regulator's complaint process. If following the Regulator's complaint procedure they are still unhappy, they can ask their MP to take their complaints to the independent Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to review the handling of their complaint.Details of recent judgements made by the regulator may be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-judgements-and-regulatory-notices.This table is updated each time a new regulatory judgement or notice is issued.

Affordable Housing

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will take steps to ensure through the planned National Planning Policy Framework revision that viability assessments are made transparent and public to allow for proper scrutiny by local councillors and communities.

Dominic Raab: In September the Government consulted on proposals to simplify the viability assessment process, create more certainty about the contributions developers are expected to make and improve transparency.The consultation asked what factors should be taken into account in updating national planning guidance, to encourage viability assessments to be simpler, quicker and more transparent. For example, through a standardised report.The consultation has now closed and we are currently analysing the responses. A further announcement will be made in due course.

EU Grants and Loans

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to allocate funding from the Shared Prosperity Fund to the (a) third sector (b) public sector and (c) academic sector in the UK after 2020.

Jake Berry: My Department continues to develop the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which aims to improve productivity and reduce economic inequalities across the country.The new Fund affords a fresh opportunity to focus investment according to our own priorities. As announced in the Industrial Strategy, we will consult widely on the design of the new Fund later in the year. I would encourage organisations from the third sector, public sector and academic sector to make their views known.

Coastal Areas: South West

Mr Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,  how much funding his Department has allocated to projects in (a) Plymouth and (b) South West Devon constituency from the Coastal Communities Fund in each year for which information is available.

Jake Berry: Plymouth has received Coastal Community Fund grants worth £2.67 million for two projects since 2013: £670,000 in 2013 for the regeneration of Plymouth’s waterfront; and £2 million in 2017 for create new and refurbish existing cultural and heritage venues in Plymouth.Funding is determined through a competitive bid-led process based on demonstrating the strongest fit with the programme's outcomes and criteria.The next bidding round is due to open shortly and will give all coastal communities another opportunity to bid for funds.

Energy Performance Certificates

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2017 to Question 111244, when his Department completed its exercise seeking information from trading standards’ bodies on the levels of compliance with Energy Performance Certificates requirements; what conclusions he reached following the receipt of that information; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab: The Department is analysing the data received from trading standards' bodies, and will report its conclusions in due course.

First Time Buyers: Oxfordshire

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the average cost of a home purchased by first time buyers in (a) Oxford city, (b) Oxford West and Abingdon constituency and (c) Oxfordshire in each of the last three years.

Dominic Raab: The Land Registry publish monthly statistics on first time buyer house prices, including Oxford and Oxfordshire, at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-house-price-index-reports No breakdown is available on a parliamentary constituency basis.

Community Infrastructure Levy

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications of the snap-back clauses in the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations for private individuals who are self-building.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to offer guidance to self-builders on serving a commencement notice within a timeframe that allows them a waiver from the Community Infrastructure Levy.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the Government last reviewed its planning practice guidance relating to community infrastructure levy exemptions.

Dominic Raab: Self builders are able to obtain an exemption from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) if they are building, or have commissioned the building of, a home for their own use. There are necessary and proportionate 'claw-back' provisions to help guard against any 'gaming' of CIL liabilities following the granting of an exemption. These provisions require the self builder benefitting from the exemption to occupy the dwelling as their main home for a minimum of three years, and not to otherwise sell or let the property during that period.The exemptions process has to fit within the legislative process within which CIL operates. CIL is, by law, a set charge on new development and the regulations incorporate a series of standard trigger points. These are intended to provide consistency, reduce complexity and aid local authorities and developers in administering CIL. The Commencement Notice is one of these trigger points. The Commencement Notice marks the start of the time period which, for most of the available exemptions from CIL, exempted developments need to comply with in terms of the 'claw-back' requirements. Failure to submit a Commencement Notice can result in an exemption being lost.The Government have announced an ambitious package of reforms to CIL and will be consulting on these in due course.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many contracts his Department holds with Government strategic suppliers.

Jake Berry: The Crown Representatives and Strategic Suppliers list is as shown at the website below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers

Planning Permission

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to grant powers to councils to be able to use unused planning permissions.

Dominic Raab: The Government’s Housing White Paper set out a wide ranging approach to driving up build out of planning permissions.   In addition, at Autumn Budget 2017, the Government announced that an independent review of build out will be conducted. This will be chaired by the Rt Hon Sir Oliver Letwin MP, with the support of a cross-party panel of experts. The review will consider the significant gap between housing completions, and the amount of planning permissions and land allocated for housing. The review panel will make recommendations for closing this gap, and will report on its findings in 2018.

EU Grants and Loans: Cornwall

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent progress has been made on the creation of the Shared Prosperity Fund for Cornwall.

Jake Berry: My Department continues to develop the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which aims to improve productivity and reduce economic inequalities across the country. As announced in the Industrial Strategy, we will consult widely on the design of the new Fund later in the year.

Housing: Bethnal Green and Bow

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of homes with Category 1 Hazards owned by the local authority in Bethnal Green and Bow constituency.

Dominic Raab: Figures on the number of local authority owned dwellings with Category 1 Hazards are available in section F of the local authority housing statistics data return.  https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-authority-housing-statistics-data-returns-for-2016-to-2017 Figures are not available at constituency level.

Social Services

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to allow local authorities to use money raised via the social care precept for both adult and children's social care.

Rishi Sunak: As set out at the Spending Review 2015 the social care precept gives local authorities who are responsible for social care the ability to raise new funding to spend exclusively on adult social care.

Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the housing capacity of public land disposed of to date; and what proportion of homes built on that land will be affordable.

Dominic Raab: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Carillion

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will place in the Library copies any analysis that (a) his Department or (b) Homes England have conducted on the exposure of the housing market to the liquidation of Carillion.

Jake Berry: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

First Time Buyers: Greater London

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the average cost of a home purchased by first time buyers in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) London Borough of Enfield and (c) London in each of the last three years.

Dominic Raab: The Land Registry publish monthly statistics on first time buyer house prices, including the London Borough of Enfield and London, at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-house-price-index-reportsNo breakdown is available on a parliamentary constituency basis.

Local Government Finance: Greater London

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what account is taken by his Department of trends in population growth when determining the local government finance settlement in London.

Rishi Sunak: The most recent assessment of local authorities’ relative needs and resources took place in 2013-14 alongside the introduction of the 50 per cent business rates retention system. At this point the demand for local services was assessed through funding formulae that used projected local population in 2013, as well as the relative needs of those populations including factors such as deprivation.At present the Government is carrying out a fair funding review of local authorities’ relative needs and resources, and we are working closely with the Local Government Association and representatives from across local government to ensure that we consider all the issues that impact on authorities’ relative need to spend on services and their capacity to fund these from local resources.Amongst the issues we will consider are the impact of population growth, deprivation, as well as specific geographical factors such as rurality and area-related costs.

Local Government Finance: Greater London

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consideration he gives to relative levels of deprivation in determining the local government finance settlement in London.

Rishi Sunak: The most recent assessment of local authorities’ relative needs and resources took place in 2013-14 alongside the introduction of the 50 per cent business rates retention system. At this point the demand for local services was assessed through funding formulae that used projected local population in 2013, as well as the relative needs of those populations including factors such as deprivation.At present the Government is carrying out a fair funding review of local authorities’ relative needs and resources, and we are working closely with the Local Government Association and representatives from across local government to ensure that we consider all the issues that impact on authorities’ relative need to spend on services and their capacity to fund these from local resources.Amongst the issues we will consider are the impact of population growth, deprivation, as well as specific geographical factors such as rurality and area-related costs.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Reorganisation

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2018 to Question 122068, for what reasons the nomenclature of his Department has been changed from Department to Ministry; and if he will make a statement.

Jake Berry: Holding answer received on 23 January 2018



This name change emphasizes the renewed focus of this government on fixing the housing market, and more accurately reflects the Ministry’s remit/responsibilities.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Reorganisation

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to Answer of 15 January to Question 122068, what the cost of purchasing new letterheads for his Ministry is; and if he will make a statement.

Jake Berry: The changing of letterheads has incurred no cost.

Ministry of Defence

Marines

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to announce a reduction in the number of Royal Marines during the current Parliament.

Mark Lancaster: There are no current plans to announce a reduction in the number of Royal Marines. All press reporting around this subject remains speculation.

Armed Forces: Females

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that more women are prepared for and encouraged to takeup positions in senior command.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence is working to achieve a more diverse workforce at all levels, including through increased female representation. This work includes better understanding and greater engagement with the female community, targeting recruitment campaigns and nurturing candidates as necessary. Officers in the UK Armed Forces receive command training at every level, ensuring that all commanders are prepared for their roles, regardless of gender. We encourage all our people to reach their full potential, facilitated by mentoring which is available to all and improvements to the return to work strategy and policies post-maternity. The Department is also developing a Flexible Engagement System (FES) for Service personnel who wish to vary their deployability or to work part-time to better fit their Service career around family life. FES will enable Regular Service personnel to temporarily change the nature of their service, enabling flexible working or protection from deployment to support an individual’s personal circumstances where operational demands allow. The opportunity to request flexible working arrangements will apply to all Service personnel and will be introduced from spring 2019. The primary legislation to enable FES is currently before Parliament.

Trident

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 December 2015 to Question 19392, how much his Department has spent on studies to support whether to refurbish or replace the existing Trident warhead design to date.

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Re-entry Systems Options project has concluded its work.

Guto Bebb: As of the end of the last financial year (March 2017), the Ministry of Defence had spent £100.7 million on studies to inform the decision on whether to refurbish or replace the existing warhead.This figure consists of £93.7 million on technology studies to support refurbishment of the current system and explore options for a potential future warhead and £7 million on studies to support the decision whether to refurbish or replace the existing warhead.Studies related to Re-entry Systems Options to determine the best approach to be taken are continuing.

Trident Missiles

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the in-service date is for the UK Trident Mark 4A modified warhead; what the estimated cost of the Mark 4A programme is; and what progress has been made in delivering that programme.

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in which Top Line Budget allocation the costs of the Mark 4A modification to the UK Trident warhead are included.

Guto Bebb: I am withholding details of the date of the Mk4A component's entry into service, the cost of the Mk4A programme and the progress made to date in delivering the programme for the purposes of safeguarding national security.The Top Level Budget for the Mk4A programme is held by Director General Nuclear.

USA: Trident Missiles

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions his Department has had with the US Administration on options for the replacement of the UK Trident nuclear warhead.

Guto Bebb: The Government has close and regular dialogue with the US Administration on all aspects of nuclear and arms control policy.

Ministry of Defence: Redundancy Pay

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2017 to Question 117143, whether any redundancies made by contractors as a result of the implementation of Project Hestia have been funded in full or in part by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: It will take time to gather the information to answer your question. I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

Armed Forces: Labour Turnover

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral contribution of 15 January 2018, Official Report, column.613, at what number the Government has made a clear commitment to maintaining personnel in the Armed Forces.

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral contribution of 15 January 2018, Official Report, column.614 whether his Department plans to maintain the Armed Forces at the size they were at the 2017 General Election; and if he will make a statement.

Gavin Williamson: This Government is committed to maintaining the overall size of the Armed Forces.

Armed Forces

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral contribution of 15 January 2018, Official Report, column 617, what the personnel will be for the(a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force in each of the next two years.

Gavin Williamson: We do not publish year-by-year forward projections for the size of the Armed Forces.

Military Bases

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for the housing stock at those of his Department's sites which were identified for disposal under the Better Defence Estate strategy.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) currently provides the large majority of its Service Family Accommodation through the Annington Homes Limited portfolio.When the MOD no longer requires properties, the lease is terminated and the properties are handed back to Annington Homes Ltd. Thereafter, it is for Annington Homes Ltd to decide the future use of the properties.

Warships: Shipbuilding

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 6 of the Independent Report to inform the UK National Shipbuilding Strategy, published 29 November 2016, and with reference to paragraphs 99 and 100 of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, published 06 September 2017, if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's research on the socio-economic effects of Government funded shipbuilding in the UK.

Guto Bebb: The IPSOS Mori report undertaken in support of the National Shipbuilding Strategy was published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the gov.uk website alongside the Strategy. It is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/641541/uk-shipbuilding-prosperity-impacts-report.pdf

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's lower and upper cost estimates are for the Fleet Solid Support ships contract.

Guto Bebb: Cost estimates for the Fleet Solid Support project will be refined as part of the Assessment Phase, which on current plans is due to conclude in 2020.I am withholding the current cost estimate as its disclosure would be prejudicial to the commercial interests of the Ministry of Defence.

Department for Work and Pensions

Barclays: Pensions

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent meetings she has had with the Pensions Regulator on the future of the Barclays Bank Pension Scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Guy Opperman: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has not met with The Pensions Regulator on the future of the Barclays Bank Pension Scheme.

State Retirement Pensions: Post Office Card Account

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, why her Department is asking the recipients of state pensions to switch the accounts that their pensions are paid into from the Post Office to a bank, building society or credit union.

Guy Opperman: Direct Payment into a bank, building society or credit union account is the standard way to make all government payments. The Post Office card account (POca) was introduced in 2003 as a very simple service through which pension and benefits can be paid. It was always intended as a stepping stone into mainstream banking, and financial inclusion, while customers got used to elements of banking. There are now fewer barriers to prevent people, who do not have an existing account, from accessing and using one. Importantly as most bank accounts can be accessed at the post office it doesn’t need to change how or where they collect their money. Additionally, POca is expensive to administer and as we deal with public funds we have a duty to use the most cost-effective method for issuing customer payments - which is into a bank, building society or credit union account.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2017 to Question 108399, whether there are any factors legally preventing her from granting up-rated state pensions to all overseas UK pensioners regardless of whether the UK has a reciprocal agreement with their country of residence.

Guy Opperman: The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations restrict for overseas residents the annual increases in certain benefits, including state pensions. This continues the long-standing policy of not up-rating the state pension in payment to people who are overseas residents, except where there is a legal requirement to up-rate for example the European Union Co-ordination Regulations and Reciprocal Agreements that allow for up-rating.

Department for Work and Pensions: Beverage Containers

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate has been made of the number of single use disposable cups that are (a) used each year and (b) sent for recycling by her Department.

Kit Malthouse: The number of single use disposable cups that were sold from outlets within DWP sites in 2017 was 1,282,145 and none of these were recycled as they have a plastic lining.

Personal Independence Payment: Multiple Sclerosis

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with multiple sclerosis have been awarded the enhanced rate of personal independence payment (a) mobility, (b) daily living and (c) mobility and daily living component by award length.

Sarah Newton: The table below shows the number of people who have been awarded either one or both of the Mobility and Daily Living components at the enhanced rate of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for awards made between April 2013 and 31st October 2017, where the main disabling condition recorded was Multiple Sclerosis.Table: Enhanced PIP Daily living and Mobility component awards made between April 2013 and 31st October 2017 with main disabling condition recorded as Multiple Sclerosis.  Enhanced Mobility (Nil / Standard / Enhanced Daily Living)Enhanced Daily Living (Nil / Standard / Enhanced Mobility)Enhanced Daily Living and Enhanced MobilityTotal Awards18,74016,37014,130Indefinite Awards9,8909,5309,340Finite Awards8,8506,8404,790Of which 4604302801 year5204902902 years2,1401,8501,1303 years2,7201,8301,2304 years9106505005 years1,6601,1609506 years1010107 years0#08 years###9 years20202010 years28027026010+ years#00Short Term Award130130120Source: PIP ADS Figures are based on the first outcome recorded for each case and include both new claims and DLA reassessment claims assessed under normal rules. Data has been rounded to the nearest 10 cases; totals less than 5 but greater than 0 are indicated by “#”. This is unpublished data and it should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision. Data is based on main disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer system. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics. The one year award length group includes cases whose award lengths are in the range 1-1.5 years. The two years award length group includes cases whose award lengths are in the range 1.5-2.5 years, and so on. The greater than 10 years group includes cases whose lengths are greater than or equal to 10.5 years but excludes cases whose award is indefinite.Award lengths are calculated from the date of on-flow to PIP to the review date.

Employment and Support Allowance: Multiple Sclerosis

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with multiple sclerosis placed in the employment support allowance (ESA) support group at initial work capability assessment have been placed in the ESA work-related activity group at their repeat assessment in each year since 2013.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Children: Maintenance

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Government will issue new guidance to Financial Investigation Units in the Child Maintenance Service for dealing with miscalculations of child maintenance liabilities by paying parents who are self-employed or company directors.

Kit Malthouse: Current guidance for all Child Maintenance Service caseworkers is to refer cases to the Financial Investigations Unit (FIU) should there be any credible, evidence based challenges to a child maintenance assessment which are unable to be resolved through our routine income verification processes. The guidance used by FIU Investigators is updated as required in regards to all areas for investigation including possible miscalculations of maintenance for clients who are deemed complex earners.

Personal Independence Payment: Motor Neurone Disease

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with motor neurone disease awarded personal independence payments in 2016-17 were granted an ongoing award with a light-touch review after 10 years by (a) mobility and daily living components and (b) standard and enhanced awards.

Sarah Newton: The table below shows the number of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) claimants who were awarded Personal Independence Payment (PIP) between 6th April 2016 and 5th April 2017 with a 10 year review split by Mobility and Daily Living components of PIP. Table: PIP Daily living and Mobility component awards made between 6th April 2016 and 5th April 2017 for MND claimants with a “light-touch” review after 10 years.  Enhanced Daily LivingStandard Daily LivingNil Daily LivingEnhanced Mobility170100Standard Mobility10#0Nil Mobility##0Source: PIP ADSFigures are based on the first outcome recorded for each case and include both new claims and DLA reassessment claims assessed under normal rules. Data has been rounded to the nearest 10 cases; totals less than 5 but greater than 0 are indicated by “#”. This is unpublished data and it should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision. Data is based on main disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer system. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of claimants who did not qualify for Employment Support Allowance made successful appeals in each of the last three years.

Sarah Newton: The latest available information on Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessments appeal outcomes can be found in tables 3 and 17 of the ESA Outcomes of Work Capability Assessments quarterly statistics published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employment-and-support-allowance-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessment

Housing Benefit: Mental Illness

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help people with chronic and enduring mental illnesses make an application for housing benefit.

Kit Malthouse: Although this Department has overall responsibility for the Housing Benefit scheme and its funding, local authorities have the statutory responsibility for its day-to-day administration. This incorporates the assessment of individual claims for benefit and devising their own arrangements to assist claimants (including those with chronic and enduring mental illnesses) with claims for Housing Benefit.

Universal Credit: Mental Illness

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help people with chronic and enduring mental illnesses make an application for universal credit.

Alok Sharma: DWP work coaches support people with disabilities and health conditions every working day and the Department has delivered additional training to 1,800 work coaches to support claimants with mental health conditions. The Department has also recruited local Community Partners to provide extra expertise on disability and health conditions. Furthermore, our Disability Employment Advisors actively provide advice and guidance to support claimants with disabilities, including those with mental health issues. If someone cannot access the online Universal Credit service on their own, DWP staff will help them make a claim and can also refer them to DWP funded local services which offer assisted digital and personal budgeting support. Universal Support provides extra help for claimants to make and maintain their claim and to manage their money. Claimants can also claim over the phone, which is free to use, and where necessary, appointees can also make a claim on a claimant’s behalf and help maintain their online account. In circumstances where a claimant is unable to visit their local Jobcentre or conduct their business with DWP using other channels, home visits are also available.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of employment support allowance claim decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions were overturned at (a) the mandatory reconsideration stage and (b) the tribunal stage in the last 12 months.

Sarah Newton: The latest available information on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) mandatory reconsideration and appeal outcomes can be found in tables 3, 14 and 17 of the ESA Outcomes of Work Capability Assessments quarterly statistics published at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employment-and-support-allowance-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessment

Mortgages: Interest Payments

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to publish the updated terms and conditions of the replacement SMI loan scheme.

Kit Malthouse: The terms and conditions of the loan are set out in The Loans for Mortgage Interest Regulations 2017 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/725/made). A loan agreement has been sent (or will be sent) to all existing customers who wish to take up the offer of a Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loan.

Employment and Support Allowance: Tribunals

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of defending decisions made by his Department on employment and support allowance claims taken to tribunal; and what the net gain or loss was in challenging those decisions.

Sarah Newton: This information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.The Department has previously published average costs of PIP and ESA mandatory reconsiderations and appeals, which covers direct staff costs only (see Table 24 of Work and Pensions Select Committee PIP and ESA assessments inquiry: supporting statistics ). The total that DWP has spent on mandatory reconsiderations and appeals includes high level support costs such as management and corporate overheads. These costs cannot be split out from overall Departmental spending on benefit payments, and therefore total Departmental spend on mandatory reconsideration and appeal is not available.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with (a) service users and (b) local community groups on the closure of Langside jobcentre.

Alok Sharma: Whilst neither I nor my predecessor have personally had any discussions with service users and local community groups on the closure of Langside Jobcentre, the Employer and Partnership Manager and Customer Service Leaders in Central Scotland District regularly meet with our stakeholders in the Langside area. These on-going meetings, which will continue after the closure of Langside Jobcentre, provide the opportunity to discuss and address any local issues and forge closer relationships between DWP and the local community.

Social Security Benefits

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what resources his Department has committed to (a) ensuring that unclaimed benefits are claimed and (b) investigating false and fraudulent claims for benefits in each of the last three years.

Kit Malthouse: We are unable to identify all those who are eligible and have not claimed benefits, however, Information on what benefits are available and how to claim is available online at gov.uk and through a range of third sector organisations such as Citizens Advice Bureau. The Counter Fraud & Compliance Directorate (CFCD), part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for the prevention, detection and where appropriate, investigation of fraud and error against all benefits administered by and on behalf of DWP. The operational arm of CFCD which investigates false and fraudulent benefit (formerly known as the Fraud and Error Service) comprised the following resources for the period 2014/15 to 2016/17: 2014/15: Full Time Equivalent staffing totalled 4,833 at a cost of £145m2015/16: Full Time Equivalent staffing totalled 4,898 at a cost of £155m2016/17: Full Time Equivalent staffing totalled 4,293 at a cost of £160m This includes staff engaged in the full range of fraud work, including telephone and letter based interventions, fraud investigation and compliance work and at its most extreme, serious, complex and organised fraud.

Social Security Benefits

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of benefits remained unclaimed in 2017.

Kit Malthouse: The Department publishes ‘Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up’ statistics annually. The latest statistics, which relate to 2015/16, are published here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up-financial-year-201516 These statistics provide estimates of take-up, by caseload and expenditure, of the following income-related benefits only (other benefits are available but no take-up estimates are calculated):Pension CreditHousing BenefitIncome Support and Employment and Support Allowance (income-related)Jobseeker’s Allowance (income-based) They also provide the total and average amounts of benefit claimed and unclaimed for each of these benefits.

Mesothelioma: Compensation

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to introduce proposals to up-rate by the rate of inflation payments made by the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme in the 2018-19 financial year.

Sarah Newton: The 2008 Mesothelioma Lump Sum Payment Scheme will be uprated from 1st April 2018. This will be in line with the September CPI rate. The statutory instruments to make this change were laid in Parliament on 15th January 2018.

Work Capability Assessment

Dame Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to implement the changes to Work Capability Assessment set out in the Government's report, Improving Lives: The Future of Health, Work and Disability, Cm. 9526, published in November 2017.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to implement the changes to the Work Capability Assessment set out in the Government's report, Improving Lives: The Future of Health, Work and Disability, Cm. 9526, published in November 2017.

Sarah Newton: We are committed to assessing people with health conditions and disabilities fairly and accurately, helping people to access the right support. We recognise the importance of getting reform in this area right. We therefore intend to focus on testing new approaches to build our evidence base for future reform. In the Improving Lives: The Future of health, Work and Disability command paper we committed to work with external stakeholders to inform future changes to the Work Capability Assessment.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Urban Areas: Pest Control

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of local authorities' powers to deter pigeons and pests in town centres.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government has not made any assessment of the effectiveness of local authorities' powers to deter pigeons and pests in town centres. However, there is a range of legislation in place to support local authorities in controlling pests and problem wild birds in urban areas. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 allows for the control of wild birds, under licence from Natural England, in the interest of public health and safety or to prevent disease. Local authorities, businesses and individuals are also able to take action to manage urban bird populations e.g. using bins with secured lids, ensuring domestic animals are not fed outside and that streets are clear of litter. Dealing with problems caused by wild birds and pests is the responsibility of the owner or occupier of the property where the problem occurs. Where this is the local authority, it has the same powers to control pests as any other owner or occupier. There is also a range of legislation in place to support local authorities in managing rodent infestation and statutory nuisances, such as litter and refuse, where these are attracting pests. The Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 obliges local authorities to ensure that their districts are kept, as far as is practicable, free of rats and mice.

Wind Power: Birds of Prey

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of birds of prey who have died as a result of impacting with wind turbines in the last three years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra does not hold information in relation to the estimated number of birds killed in the last three years by the operation of wind turbines in the UK.

Game: Birds

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the population of game birds in the UK.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: This is a devolved matter. In England, the Countryside Stewardship Scheme encourages the provision of sympathetic habitat management of farmland through a Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package. This can indirectly benefit game birds, such as grey partridge and grouse, by providing winter feeding opportunities, nesting sites and food for chicks.

Sheep Dipping: Organophosphates

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research is being conducted on the effect of organophosphates on people that operate sheep dips.

George Eustice: The Government recognises that organophosphates are potentially dangerous substances, and that their use needs to be carefully controlled in order to minimise the risks to people who work with them. Government policy is, and always has been, based on the best independent scientific advice. It is Government practice to regularly review all controls in line with the latest scientific advice, and to carry out research to provide more information when required. The 1999 report from the Government’s independent advisory Committee on Toxicity (COT), entitled ‘Organophosphates’, concluded by making recommendations for further scientific research in the form of five questions. Subsequently, the Government committed £4.1 million funding to answer these and other research questions, exploring whether the use of sheep dips was the cause of the chronic ill health reported by some sheep farmers. The outcome of this research was provided to the COT for its work in preparation for the March 2014 statement.

Sheep Dipping: Organophosphates

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Guy's hospital poisons unit on organophosphates in sheep dips.

George Eustice: In January 2017, Government officials met with representatives from Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospitals’ Toxicology Department to discuss how patients who participated in various studies conducted there in the early 1990s could access their test results. During this meeting the extent of data relating to these studies that is still held was clarified, and several options for patients to gain access to their medical records were discussed. In concluding the meeting, officials agreed to produce very clear and concise instructions for how this could be done at minimal cost and share them with the group of patients concerned. The above action was completed a few weeks later at the beginning of February 2017. Since that time there have been no further meetings with the hospital, but officials have been in occasional communication with staff in the Toxicology Department in response to feedback from some patients.

Forests

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers he plans for the Tree Champion to have; what the annual budget of that champion will be; and to whom that champion will report.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The appointment of the Tree Champion is one of the priorities of the recently published 25 Year Environment Plan. The Tree Champion role will promote the benefits that trees deliver, support the tree planting manifesto commitments and co-ordinate a cross government approach to encourage a step change in tree planting. Further details will be set out in due course.

Slaughterhouses: Animal Welfare

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect animal welfare standards in slaughterhouses after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: The UK already has stricter national rules to protect animal welfare at slaughter than those laid down in the EU regulation and we will maintain those stricter national rules, alongside rolling-over current EU regulations, when we leave the EU. In addition, to increase protection of animals at slaughter, this year we will be introducing regulations to make it mandatory for all approved slaughterhouses in England to have CCTV installed.

Algae: Marine Environment

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in frequency and scale of algal blooms on the health of the marine environment in the last 12 months.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The health of the marine environment including phytoplankton (and any potential algal blooms) is monitored for ecological status in the nearshore coasts and estuaries and for environmental status from the coast to offshore waters. The majority of English marine waters are considered to be healthy. There are some localised areas – estuaries or shallow harbours – that are affected by eutrophication but this is primarily due to nuisance green macroalgal mats, not blooms of phytoplankton. Several years’ worth of data is used to assess the health of marine waters which allows for typical variation between different years (often due to local meteorological conditions). The Environment Agency uses the latest evidence from a number of sources in a regular Weight of Evidence (WoE) assessment that suggests there has not been a significant change in recent years. The Environment Agency is involved, with other partners, in the S-3 EUROHAB project which is investigating using data from the recently launched European satellite, Copernicus Sentinel 3, to track the growth and spread of harmful algal blooms in the Channel in near real time. The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) collects water samples from designated shellfish growing areas on behalf of the Food Standards Agency (FSA). These are analysed for various species of potentially harmful phytoplankton in the context of human health. The FSA data at individual beds shows that the proportion of samples over harmful limits varies quite widely each year.

Government Departments: Recycling

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase recycling rates across (a) Government Departments and (b) non-executive agencies.

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the use of paper by (a) Government Departments and (b) non-executive agencies.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Greening Government Commitments (GGCs) require central Government Departments and their executive and non-executive agencies to improve their waste management by reducing the amount of waste going to landfill to less than 10%; continuing to reduce the overall amount of waste generated and increasing the proportion which is recycled; and reducing their paper use by at least 50% from a 2009/10 baseline. Compared with the 2009/10 baseline, by 2015/16 Departments had reduced their overall waste by 27% and their paper consumption by 44%. The proportion of waste sent to landfill in 2015/16 had been reduced to 13% across Government. The target to increase recycling was introduced for the 2016/17 financial year, and this data will be published shortly in the 2016/17 Annual Report on the GGCs, along with 2016/17 figures for the other GGC goals. Departments are responsible for making decisions about how to achieve these goals in line with the priorities of their own functions, but their performance is reported annually in the Annual Report on the GGCs. Defra and Cabinet Office Ministers follow up any significant issues with performance with individual Departments.

Puffins

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department had made of the (a) reasons for and (b) extent of the decline in the puffin population.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The latest population trends indicate a decline in the population of UK puffins. UK-scale accurate trends in the puffin breeding population will, however, not be known until a new census of the UK’s breeding seabird populations is completed. Work on the breeding seabird census 2015-2019 is underway. Declines in puffin breeding populations are thought to be due to a combination of factors, including climate change related food shortages and unfavourable weather conditions during the breeding season.

Birds: Marine Environment

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans next to undertake a census of seabirds.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Work on the next breeding seabird census, covering 2015-2019, is underway. The Seabirds Count census approach was developed by the Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP) partnership, which is coordinated by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) in partnership with government agencies and conservation organisations. To date the census has incorporated data collected by volunteers and professional surveyors as part of ongoing SMP annual monitoring and from other survey initiatives such as Common Standard Monitoring of the UK’s breeding seabird special protection area network. During the 2018 and 2019 breeding seasons, the JNCC will be working with the SMP partnership to increase census survey coverage.

Incinerators

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2017 to Question 117198, if he will place a moratorium on new incinerators until he has made an assessment of what future capacity may be needed for incineration.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We have no plans to place a moratorium on new incinerators.

School Milk

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of school children who will be affected by the discontinuance of subsidies from the European School Milk Scheme.

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on creating a replacement for the European School Milk Scheme.

George Eustice: The Secretary of State and I have regular discussions with ministers in other government departments on a range of matters. We want children to be healthy and well-nourished and the dairy industry makes an important contribution to this. Alongside the European Union (EU) scheme, the Government is already doing a great deal nationally to promote children’s dairy consumption through, for example, the much larger national free Nursery Milk Scheme, and by ensuring the availability of milk for pupils under the School Food Standards, including free milk for disadvantaged pupils. The longer-term approach to the EU Scheme is still under consideration.

Plastics: Inland Waterways and Rivers

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of plastic pollution in rivers and canals.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency (EA) regulates the management of waste plastics, including waste treatment, exports and recovery. The producer responsibility regime requires producers of plastic packaging to ensure it is recovered. The EA is currently working with the water industry through the price review process to investigate the sources and types of microplastics entering the environment via sewage and sewage sludge. This will feed into future planning and the potential for plastic capture technology at water company assets. The EA is investigating additional regulation of plastics from production to disposal, and enhanced monitoring and analysis to provide better evidence on how plastics enter and affect the land and water environment. The EA recently announced £750,000 for a new, dedicated team to tackle plastics pollution in the South West of England. The team aims to reduce plastic pollution across land, rivers and the coastline. It will promote better environmental practices across industry, including a reduction in plastic waste from manufacturing and community campaigns to clean up pollution locally.

Home Office

Immigration

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many IS.96 notices have been incorrectly sent to individuals who have not had their applications for leave to remain refused in each of the last five years.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what explanations were sent to individuals who were not refused leave to remain but were incorrectly sent IS.96 notices in each of the last five years.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken by her Department to contact people who were incorrectly sent an IS.96 notice in each of the last five years was.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of IS.96 notices that are sent in error.

Caroline  Nokes: The number of IS.96 notices sent in error, and average timescale taken to contact those issued incorrectly, are not recorded in a way which can be reported on without breaching the disproportionate cost threshold.If an applicant is unhappy with parts or all of the immigration process there is a complaints procedure which is available on the Home Office web sitehttps://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/about/complaints-procedure

Immigrants: Detainees

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people aged 18 and under were held in immigration detention centres in each year from 2014 to date.

Caroline  Nokes: Information on the number of minors entering and in detention in the UK from 2014, is available in tables dt_02_q and dt_13_q of the detention tables in the latest release of ‘Immigration Statistics, July to September 2017’, available from the Home Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/662536/detention-jul-sep-2017-tables.ods. Figures for Q4 2017 will be released on 22 February 2018.

Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons Review

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on implementing the recommendations from the Shaw Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons, published in January 2016.

Caroline  Nokes: The follow up to the independent review by Stephen Shaw CBE into the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons started on 4 September 2017. As part of this stocktake Mr Shaw will be assessing the implementation of all of his earlier review recommendations.

UK Visas and Immigration: Scotland

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of Parliamentary cases received a response within the 20-working day service standard from the UK Visas and Immigration office at Festival Court in Glasgow in 2017.

Caroline  Nokes: Statistics on UKVI performance in answering written MP written enquiries within 20 working day target are published at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-dataFinal quarter statistics for 2017 are due to be published in February 2018.

Immigration: Married People

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the proportion of spousal visa applications which failed because the sponsoring spouse is unable to meet the salary and savings thresholds in each of the last three years.

Caroline  Nokes: The specific information requested is not available in published statistics.Information on the total number of entry clearance visa applications and resolved (i.e. grants, refusals, withdrawn and lapsed) cases, and the proportion of resolved cases that are either granted or refused, in the ‘Family: Partner’ category is published quarterly.The most recent information can be found in the Home Office publication ‘Immigration Statistics, July – September 2017’, Visas data tables volume 1, table vi_01_q, available from https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2017

Immigration

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has carried out modelling on potential changes in migration numbers caused by the savings and salary thresholds for spousal visa applications being raised or lowered.

Caroline  Nokes: The savings and salary thresholds for spousal visa applications are dictated by the minimum income requirement. It was set following advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee and considering the Policy Equality Statement published on 13 June 2012. In February 2017, the Supreme Court upheld the lawfulness of the minimum income requirement under the family Immigration Rules, including in terms of equalities impacts and in light of the published Policy Equality Statement.Any future amendment to the minimum income requirement would be subject to thorough equality and impact analysis and a further Policy Equality Statement will be published.

Immigration

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to introduce a maximum waiting time for a reply to applications for indefinite leave to remain under the ten-year settlement route.

Caroline  Nokes: The current maximum waiting time for a straightforward application for indefinite leave to remain under the ten-year settlement route is six months, there are currently no plans to change this.

Asylum: Housing

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the twelfth report of 2016-17 of the Home Affairs Committee, Asylum accommodation published on 17 January 2017, HC 637, whether there are plans to enable councils to provide independent oversight of the condition of asylum seeker housing.

Caroline  Nokes: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on the 18th January 2018, UIN 122556.

Immigration

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much it costs her Department to process a leave to remain application; how many such applications it has processed in each of the last five years; and how much revenue has been generated from fees for leave to remain applications in each of those years.

Caroline  Nokes: The cost of processing visa applications varies by application type and these are set out in the published unit costs and fees table, which can be accessed via the link attached:FY 2017/18: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/606616/Unit_cost_table_2017.pdf2. The number of Applications for ‘Leave To Remain’ received/processed are regularly published, refer to links below for latest figures:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2017https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/in-country-migration-data-november-20173. The Home Office does not hold the information in the format requested. Income is not differentiated between the various categories in which they are received. Our ledger will not allow us to provide this level of detail.

Immigration

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what impact assessments were carried out ahead of the proposed 22.5 per cent fee increase for leave to remain applications.

Caroline  Nokes: A number of UK Visa and Immigration fees were increased by 22.5% in April 2017. An assessment of the impact of all fee increases implemented then was published as an associated document to the Immigration and Nationality Fees (Regulations) 2017. The relevant information can be found via the following link:http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/515/pdfs/uksiod_20170515_en.pdf.Fee changes for 2018 have not yet been agreed.

Undocumented Migrants

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the second report of the Home Affairs Committee, Immigration policy: basis for building consensus, published on 15 January 2018, HC 500, what steps her Department plans to take to publish an official analysis of the scale of illegal immigration.

Caroline  Nokes: The Government is carefully considering the Home Affairs Committee report and will respond in due courseThe Government does not currently produce any official estimates of the scale of illegal migration. The Government takes a broad range of activity to prevent migrants from entering the UK illegally and overstaying, tackle the threats associated with immigration offending and to encourage and enforce the removal of illegal migrants.

Undocumented Migrants

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the second report of the Home Affairs Committee, Immigration policy: basis for building consensus, published on 15 January 2018, HC 500, what plans she has to re-evaluate the hostile environments measures.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the second report of the Home Affairs Committee, Immigration policy: basis for building consensus, published on 15 January 2018, HC 500, what assessment she has made of the accuracy and effectiveness of hostile environments measures.

Caroline  Nokes: The Government will respond to the Home Affairs Committee report in due courseSuccessive Governments have introduced legislative and administrative controls on migrants’ access to work, benefits and services to prevent immigration offending, including action overseas, at the border and in-country, to detect and remove persons without permission to enter or remain in the UK and to protect taxpayer funded services.In recent years we have introduced, extended and strengthened the set of “compliant environment” measures; putting in place a range of entitlement controls, including denying or restricting access and through taking systematic, automated action, and working with a range of delivery partners on the consequences of not complying with our laws and rules.The compliant environment aims to: deter prospective immigration offenders; make it difficult for those unlawfully in the UK to lead a settled life; incentivise voluntary departure; and deter legal migrants from breaching conditions of their immigration leave. We have no plans to re-evaluate these measures; however, the Government gives careful consideration to reports and recommendations produced by Parliament and the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration on the operation of the immigration system and remains committed to ensuring the accuracy of immigration data shared across Government and with key delivery partners.

Undocumented Migrants: Bank Services

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the ICIBI annual report 2016 to 2017, published on 13 July 2017, what plans she has to improve the accuracy of the data in her Department's disqualified persons list.

Caroline  Nokes: The accuracy of the disqualified person data is subject to rigorous checks by the Home Office before it is shared, with banks and building societies, and a current account will only be reported to the Home Office if there is a clear data match based on the person’s name, address and date of birth. In addition, we continue to keep under review any improvements that can be made to the accuracy of the data.

Dublin Regulations

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which three countries the UK made the largest number outgoing Dublin III regulation requests in 2017, and how many requests were made to each of those countries.

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many outgoing Dublin III regulation requests under Article 16 Regulation 604/2013 dependent persons clause were made by the UK in 2017.

Caroline  Nokes: The Dublin III Regulation is a long-standing mechanism between EU Member States to determine responsibility for examining asylum claims. It is not an application route for transfer to the UK. At present we do not publish data on cases covered by the Dublin Regulation. Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, regularly publishes Member State figures, which can be found at:http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Dublin_statistics_on_countries_responsible_for_asylum_application#Further_Eurostat_information The Commission has data up to, and including 2016. This shows the UK processed over 6,000 Dublin requests in 2016: over 4,200 outgoing requests to other Member States and almost 1,800 incoming requests. 2017 data is not yet available.

Immigration Controls: France

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking under the 2003 Le Touquet accord to ensure that UK border controls are conducted on French soil.

Caroline  Nokes: Juxtaposed Controls were introduced for short sea crossings by the “Treaty Between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the French Republic Concerning the Implementation of Frontier Controls at the Sea ports of Both Countries on the Channel and North Sea”, signed at Le Touquet on 4 February 2003.The Le Touquet Treaty is a bilateral agreement and provides for immigration controls to be conducted by the country of arrival in designated control zones in the country of departure at both French and UK sea ports on the Channel and North Sea, including Calais and Dunkirk in France, and Dover in the UK.Both countries have in recent discussions reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement and to the continued effective management of our shared border in Northern France.

Visas: Applications

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which criteria are applied by UK Visas and Immigration staff when judging a visa application to be non-straightforward; and what service standards govern the (a) processing of such applications and (b) updating the applicant on the status and progress of their application.

Caroline  Nokes: Visa applications are considered to be complex when an Entry Clearance Officer determines that additional information is required in order for a decision to be made. There are no set standards for processing non-straightforward (identified as complex) by the caseworker. However, if an application is complex and expected to take longer than the standard processing timescale, UKVI will write to the customer within the standard processing time and explain what will happen nextThe published information on processing times for visa applications is published as part of the Migration Transparency data, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration

Asylum: Disclosure of Information

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of unauthorised sharing of asylum information there have been in her Department in each year since 2010.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has paid in compensation as a result of its unauthorised sharing of asylum information since 2010.

Caroline  Nokes: The number of incidents of unauthorised sharing of asylum information and the amount of compensation paid by the department for unauthorised sharing of asylum information is not held in a format which is reportable.It is contrary to Home Office policy to disclose information on individual asylum cases.

UK Border Force

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of establishing a special volunteer force to support Border Force.

Caroline  Nokes: The Home Office is in the process of taking advice on a range of options from other law enforcement bodies such as police forces, which have successfully deployed well-trained, high calibre Special Constables for many years, to examine whether a Special Volunteer force within Border Force would provide benefits and bolster existing activity. No decision has been made on whether BF specials should proceed to a pilot.

Members: Correspondence

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter of the hon. Member for Edinburgh East of 14 November 2017; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that MPs' offices are able to access their account manager team at UK Visas and Immigration.

Caroline  Nokes: The hon. Member’s letter of 14 November 2017 was received and a response will be issued as soon as possible.MPs’ offices have a number of ways to contact their MP Account Management (MPAM) team; by phone, email or letter. Additionally if phone lines are engaged they have been given the MP Account Manager’s personal mobile number for urgent queries and also advised to email to book a call back from the MPAM team.

Forensic Science: Regulation

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will place in the Library a copy of the Forensic Regulator Guideline C-133.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when (a) the Forensic Science Regulator, (b) UKAS and (c) the CPS became aware that Randox Testing Services was not complying with Forensic Regulator Guidelines C-133 on duplicate testing in relation to Section 5a offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Mr Nick  Hurd: The Forensic Science Regulator (FSR) is developing FSR-C-133 and has not issued a final version.The FSR, UKAS and CPS were made aware of Randox Testing Services’ approach to the extraction of drugs from blood for analysis in February 2016. For the entire period of time that RTS provided Section 5A drug driving analysis services to the Criminal Justice System, they were accredited by UKAS to the quality standard set by the FSR and there was nothing in the specification, standards or professional guidance at the time which explicitly precluded their approach to extraction.

Detention Centres: Costs

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the immigration detention estate cost the public purse in each of the last five years.

Caroline  Nokes: Detention costs are published in the Home Office’s Annual Report and Accounts and they can be found via the following linksFY2016/17 - page 115:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627853/ho_annual_report_and_accounts_2016_2017.pdf FY2015/16 - page 132:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/539638/HO_AR_16_gov.pdf FY2014/15 – page 124https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/441282/HO-AR15_web.pdf FY2013/14 – page 110https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/321446/ARA_web_enabled_18_June.pdf

Ilois: Detainees

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information she holds on the number of people of Chagossian descent who have been (a) detained in immigration detention centres or (d) deported from the UK in each of the last five years.

Caroline  Nokes: Providing the information requested would require a manual check of individual records which could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the six Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures in force as of 31 August 2017 have been imposed on (a) British nationals suspected of service as foreign terrorist fighters in Iraq or Syria and (b) foreign nationals suspected of supporting Daesh or other Islamist groups.

Mr Ben  Wallace: We do not comment on the circumstances of individuals who are subject to a TPIM notice.The last Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Written Ministerial Statement (published on 18 January 2018) confirmed that there are currently seven TPIM notices in force as of 30 November 2017.TPIM notices are subject to an automatic High Court review of the necessity and proportionality of the TPIM and associated measures. The High Court has considered and published judgments on five of the current seven TPIM notices, these judgments will provide some of the information that you have requested. These judgments can be found at the following links:http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2017/795.htmlhttp://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2017/1529.htmlhttp://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2017/2685.html

Wales Office

Wales Office: Beverage Containers

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what estimate has been made of the number of single use disposable cups that are (a) used and (b) sent for recycling each year by his Department.

Stuart Andrew: The Wales Office is a Department with less than 50 staff and it uses larger departments for support services in areas such as facilities management. The Department does not therefore hold the information requested.

South Wales Railway Line: Electrification

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment his Department has made of the environmental effect of not proceeding with the electrification of the Cardiff-Swansea mainline.

Alun Cairns: The UK Government is committed to reducing emissions across the nation’s transport network. The bi-mode Intercity Express trains on the Great Western route will utilise modern technology and will produce less emissions than today. Once the Great Western transformation is complete the new trains will spend most of the journey between London and Swansea in electric mode, with near-zero emissions. In diesel mode the new trains meet the highest rolling stock emissions standards and will convert nitrogen oxides in exhaust gases into water.

HM Treasury

Cider: Excise Duties

Helen Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the new duty band for high strength white cider on the lives of homeless people.

Robert Jenrick: While the government has not made a specific assessment of the impact on the lives of homeless people, the new duty band is expected to have a positive impact on the health of individuals in the UK, including homeless people.

Treasury: Ministerial Powers

Jon Trickett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many ministerial directions were issued to his Department in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017.

Robert Jenrick: There have been no Ministerial Directions issued by the Treasury between 2015 and 2017.

VAT: Public Consultation

Chris Elmore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the length of time available for people to respond to the consultation on the [Draft] Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulations 2018.

Chris Elmore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he has any plans to extend the length of consultation relating to the [Draft] Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulations 2018.

Mel Stride: The government has consulted extensively since 2016 on Making Tax Digital. This included an initial 13 week consultation in the second half of 2016 on the core design of Making Tax Digital for VAT, followed by a consultation on an overview of the proposed VAT regulations between September and November 2017. A third period of technical consultation on the draft regulations was launched in December 2017. The consultation will run for 8 weeks. HM Revenue and Customs has engaged proactively with stakeholders to raise awareness of the consultations. The draft regulations take into account representations from stakeholders following the previous consultation.

Revenue and Customs

Alex Sobel: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much additional funding has been allocated to HM Revenue and Customs to tackle tax avoidance since the release of the Paradise Papers.

Alex Sobel: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many additional staff have been employed by HM Revenue and Customs to tackle tax avoidance since the release of the Paradise Papers.

Mel Stride: HMRC will investigate any allegations of wrongdoing brought to its attention. In the Autumn Budget 2017, the government confirmed 18 further measures and additional investment in HMRC to tackle avoidance, evasion, and non-compliance. HMRC has generated over £160 billion of additional yield since 2010 from tackling avoidance, evasion and non-compliance. There are currently 26,000 people working in the Customer Compliance Group tackling all forms of non-compliance – ranging from individuals operating in the hidden economy, through to detailed investigation of offshore structures and scrutinising the tax affairs of the largest multi-national companies. The Joint Financial Analysis Centre (JFAC) established in the wake of the Panama Papers brings together data and intelligence from across Government and has developed into a national capability underpinning the Government’s ambitions to fight complex tax and economic crime, at home and overseas.

Financial Services: Liability

Rosie Duffield: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the introduction of the duty of care; and what the process and timescale will be for that introduction.

John Glen: The government believes that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the UK’s independent conduct regulator for the financial services industry, is best placed to evaluate the merits of a duty of care for financial services providers. We therefore welcome the FCA’s commitment to publish a Discussion Paper on the subject, which the FCA plans to publish after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

Help to Buy Scheme: Oxfordshire

Layla Moran: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the average cost of a home purchased using a Help to Buy ISA in (a) Oxford city, (b) Oxford West and Abingdon constituency and (c) Oxfordshire in the last 12 months.

John Glen: Help to Buy: ISA statistics are published on a quarterly basis. The information can be found at : https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-isa-scheme-quarterly-statistics-december-2015-to-30-september-2017.

Banks: Small Businesses

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to establish an independent tribunal to act as a mandatory first dispute resolution mechanism between banks and small and medium-sized enterprises; and what representations he has received on such a tribunal since 2015.

John Glen: The Government receives representations on a number of issues from both MPs, organisations and individuals. The Financial Conduct Authority recently published its consultation on widening the remit of the Financial Ombudsman Service, and its feedback statement on its 2015 SME paper. The Government is considering those findings closely, and considering wider options being put forward on dispute resolution between small and medium-sized enterprises and banks.

Employee Ownership

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the number of UK companies which operated employee share schemes in (a) 1988, (b) 1990, (c) 2000, (d) 2010 and (e) 2017.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many UK companies benefited from the Save As You Earn scheme in (a) 1981, (b) 1990, (c) 2000, (d) 2010 and (e) 2017.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many UK companies benefited from a company share option plan in (a) 1981, (b) 1990, (c) 2000, (d) 2010 and (e) 2017.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many UK companies received Enterprise Management Incentives in (a) 2000, (b) 2010 and (c) 2017.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many UK companies benefited from a share incentive plan in (a) 2000, (b) 2010 and (c) 2017.

Mel Stride: The number of UK companies that operated each of the four tax-advantaged Employee Share Schemes from 2000-01 to 2015-16 can be found on the gov.uk website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/companies-with-tax-advantaged-employee-share-schemes Information for earlier years is not available. Information for 2017-18 is due to be published in June 2019.

Employee Ownership

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the number of UK employees who held shares in the company they worked for in (a) 1988, (b) 1990, (c) 2000, (d) 2010 and (e) 2017.

Mel Stride: Complete information on the number of UK employees who hold shares in the company they work for is not held by HMRC.HMRC publishes information on the number of employees who have acquired shares in their employer company through tax-advantaged share schemes in any particular year at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employee-share-schemes-statistics HMRC will not have information on shares acquired by employees in their employer company outside of these share schemes.

Carillion: Taxation

John McDonnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much tax has been paid by Carillion in each year for which information is available.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs has a duty to protect taxpayer confidentiality so is unable to provide this information.

Local Government: Infrastructure

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will grant councils the freedom to invest in local infrastructure in new housing developments.

Elizabeth Truss: Local authorities are free to borrow and invest in infrastructure for the benefit of local people without prior government consent, subject to assuring themselves that their borrowing costs are affordable. Local authorities can secure contributions from developers to fund infrastructure through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and section 106 planning obligations. CIL is a flat rate charge on new development that local authorities can use to address the cumulative impact of development in their area. Section 106 planning obligations are negotiated agreements between local planning authorities and developers, and can be used to build infrastructure that will make a development acceptable in planning terms. The government recognises the importance of infrastructure that supports housing. This is why the Autumn Budget 2017 announced a further £2.7bn for the Housing Infrastructure Fund, which supports infrastructure that unlocks housing, taking total investment in the fund to £5bn.

Royal Bank of Scotland: Scotland

Danielle Rowley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have to meet with representatives of UK Financial Investments to discuss the closures of Royal Bank of Scotland branches in (i) Scotland and (ii) Midlothian constituency.

Danielle Rowley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to meet Ross McEwan and Les Matheson to discuss the closure of RBS branches in Scotland.

John Glen: I refer the honourable member to the answer that I gave on 12 January to PQ UIN 121049.

Valuation Office Agency: Shrewsbury

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Valuation Order Agency has for their tenancy of The Mount House, Shrewsbury, in 2020.

Mel Stride: The VOA's estates programme is transforming the way it uses its offices to support new and more efficient ways of working. It balances affordability and geographic coverage. By consolidating into a smaller number of higher-quality buildings, the VOA will be able to support its staff in adapting to a more flexible way of working, delivering services to its customers in a more cost-effective and sustainable way. For information on VOA offices due to close within the next five to seven years, I refer the honourable member to the supplementary information provided to the House of Commons Library for Parliamentary Questions UIN 117327: VOA Closures. VOA is a sub – tenant of The Mount House where VOA’s Shrewsbury office is located. After the VOA vacate the building in 2020/21, the landlord will be responsible for determining the future of the building and only they can advise on this.

Income Tax: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the powers devolved to the Welsh Government on income tax.

Mel Stride: The UK government is devolving powers over Welsh rates of income tax to the Welsh Assembly. From April 2019, the Welsh Government will be able to set the basic, higher, and additional rates of income tax in Wales. These new tax powers, combined with the new funding settlement agreed in the Welsh Government’s fiscal framework, will mean the Welsh Government is responsible for raising more of what it spends. This paves the way to making the Welsh Assembly a more powerful, accountable and mature institution, with greater powers and responsibilities to grow and support the Welsh economy.

UK Trade with EU: VAT

Kirsty Blackman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of firms in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland that would be subject to upfront VAT for imports from the EU in the event that the UK is no longer a member of the EU VAT area.

Mel Stride: The Government recognises the importance of VAT accounting treatment to business, and is exploring options to mitigate any cash-flow impacts for business as a result of potential changes following EU exit. The number of businesses importing goods from the EU, broken down by region, is set out in table 4 of HMRC’s quarterly Trade Statistics publication: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/RTS/RTS%20Releases/RTS_Q3_2017.xls

Royal Bank of Scotland

Bill Esterson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the timetable is for the completion of the Financial Conduct Authority inquiry on RBS; and whether that report will be published.

John Glen: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a final summary of the independent review of Royal Bank of Scotland’s treatment of small and medium-sized enterprise customers transferred to its Global Restructuring Group. The FCA announced it is investigating the matters arising from the review and focussing on whether there is any basis for it to take further action. The review is solely a matter for the FCA, which is operationally independent of Government. It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment further whilst this process is ongoing.

Sanitary Protection: VAT Zero Rating

Paul Girvan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce a VAT zero rate on women's sanitary products immediately after the UK leaves the EU.

Mel Stride: The government has committed to extending a zero rate of VAT to women’s sanitary products as soon as we are legally able to.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Land

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress the Government Property Unit has made on the sale of Government Departments' surplus land.

Oliver Dowden: The Government is working towards its commitment to raise £5 billion from releasing surplus land in 2015 - 2020 and we plan to publish a transparency report on land sales in 2015/16 and 2016/17 shortly. We are also supporting collaboration across the public sector to make better use of our collective estate. Our successful partnership with the Local Government Association to deliver the One Public Estate programme is now supporting over 90% of councils in England following its latest expansion last month. Through joint working across central and local government and the wider public sector we are delivering more integrated public services, local growth (homes and jobs) and efficiencies.

Crown Commercial Service: Contracts

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Crown Commercial Service contracts there are with Government strategic suppliers.

Oliver Dowden: Suppliers on Crown Commercial Service frameworks are published publicly on the CCS website:https://ccs-agreements.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/suppliers

Carrillion

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts the Government awarded to Carillion in Aberavon constituency (a) between 5 May 2010 and 7 May 2015, (b) between 8 May 2015 and 13 July 2016, (c) between 14 July 2016 and 8 June 2017, (d) between 9 June 2017 and 10 July 2017, (e) between 11 July 2017 and 29 September 2017 and (f) since 30 September 2017.

Oliver Dowden: Information on public sector suppliers within a specific constituency is not held centrally.

Carillion: Scotland

Marion Fellows: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what contracts the UK Government holds with Carillion in (a) Motherwell and Wishaw constituency and (b) Scotland; and what the value of those contracts is.

Oliver Dowden: Information on public sector suppliers within a specific constituency is not held centrally.

Carillion: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what contracts the Government holds with Carillion in (a) Coventry and (b) Coventry South constituency; and what the value is of those contracts.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts the Government awarded toCarillionin Coventry South constituency between (a) 5 May 2010 and 7 May 2015, (b) 8 May 2015 and 13 July 2016, (c) 14 July 2016 and 8 June 2017, (d) 9 June 2017 and 10 July 2017, (e) 11 July 2017 and 29 September 2017 and (f) since 30 September 2017.

Oliver Dowden: Information on public sector suppliers within a specific constituency is not held centrally.

Serco

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to section 6 of the Strategic Supplier Risk Management Policy, what improvement measures were agreed by the Crown representative to Serco after Serco issued four profit warnings in 2014.

Oliver Dowden: This Government recognises the importance of managing relationships with Strategic Suppliers and their performance on a cross-Government basis, and has developed a range of strategies to do this. Discussions held with those suppliers covers information that is commercially sensitive and therefore not appropriate for publication.

Carillion: Insolvency

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what engagement he has had with (a) local authorities, (b) Metro Mayors and (c) LEPs on the potential economic effect of Carillion entering liquidation.

Oliver Dowden: Our priority is to keep public services running. We have extensive contingency plans and are working hard to minimise any disruption. We have worked closely across government with all affected departments and stakeholders to develop robust contingency plans that enable us to maintain the continuity and mitigate impacts to public services.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether any journalist has been given access by his Department to non-public Market Access reports pertaining to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government has undertaken a wide range of work preparing for negotiations since the referendum and this work is ongoing. Ministers have a specific responsibility, which Parliament has previously endorsed, not to release information that would undermine our negotiating position.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Ministerial Powers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many ministerial directions were issued to his Department in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017.

Mr Steve Baker: No Ministerial Directions have been issued to the Department for Exiting the European Union since its formation.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Beverage Containers

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate has been made of the number of single use disposable cups that are (a) used each year and (b) sent for recycling by his Department.

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many disposable coffee cups have been purchased by his Department since its establishment.

Mr Steve Baker: The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) is accommodated in buildings owned by other government departments. The provision of disposable cups and the management of their disposal is overseen by the landlords for each building.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Electric Vehicles

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many vehicles in his Department's fleet are (a) electric vehicles and (b) ultra-low emission vehicles.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade uses the Government Car Service for vehicle provision. Cars provided to Departments by the Government Car Service will be included in the return for the Department for Transport.

Lebanon: Exports

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the level of exports from the UK to Lebanon in was in (a) 2010, (b) 2015 and (c) 2016.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether he has plans to appoint a trade envoy to Lebanon; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: Data on the value of UK exports to Lebanon in 2010, 2015 and 2016 are available from the ONS Pink Book 2017 (additional country data): https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/adhocs/007716additionalcountrydatafortradeingoodsandservicesbetween1999and2016.The Department for International Trade (DIT) is active in Lebanon, and works to support UK companies to export goods and services through our team in the British Embassy in Beirut.There are no current plans to appoint a Trade Envoy to Lebanon. DIT regularly assess markets’ suitability for a Trade Envoy, based on a number of criteria, including current political situation and the quantity of opportunities which would benefit from high level engagement.

Turkey: Military Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the current status is of Government involvement in the partnership between BAE Systems and Turkish Aerospace Industries to develop the TF-X fighter aircraft.

Graham Stuart: The Government has had no involvement in the partnership (commercial discussions) between BAE Systems and Turkish Aerospace Industries to develop the TF-X fighter aircraft. However, the UK Government have taken forward a number of diplomatic activities to support UK industry in pursuit of various TF-X contracts.

Food: Origin Marking

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans he has for recognising protected food names in future trade agreements after the UK leaves the EU.

Greg Hands: The Government’s objective in any trade negotiations will be to support the best possible outcome for the UK economy as a whole.The EU withdrawal bill will transfer into domestic law the EU schemes that currently protect our Geographic Indicators (GIs).Future protection for current UK GIs in EU Member States, and for GIs in the UK, is subject to negotiations with the EU.Some of the GI designations that the UK has, for instance protecting Scotch Whisky in the US, are governed by agreements outside the EU Protected Food Name Scheme.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Public Libraries

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of people using public libraries in each of the last five years.

Michael Ellis: The detail requested is not collected by this Department. However, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) collect annually from the individual library authorities comprehensive information relating to library service provision in Great Britain. The following table outlines the number of physical library visits in each of the last five years in England.  Visits (million)2012/13238.92013/14223.92014/15224.62015/16210.82016/17204.3 The CIPFA library statistics can be accessed from the House library.

Arts: Finance

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support the arts sector to become self-funding and financially sustainable.

Michael Ellis: The Department has promoted a number of initiatives alongside our Arm’s Length Body, Arts Council England (ACE) to support the arts sector to become more self-funding and financially sustainable. For example, the recent Catalyst Fund supported organisations with a limited track record in fundraising to enable them to attract more private giving, while ACE's Building Resilience programme helped arts and culture organisations build their financial and business resilience. 'Boosting Resilience: Survival Skills for the New Normal' is currently one of four new flagship projects supported by ACE, which aims to enable senior staff from England-based arts and cultural organisations, music education hubs, museums and library services to develop new approaches to making the most of creative assets and intellectual property. In addition, the Arts Impact Fund encourages organisations to consider alternatives to grants for business development. The fund provides repayable finance to arts organisations with ambitions to grow, achieve great artistic quality and have a further positive impact on society.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Ministerial Powers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many ministerial directions were issued to his Department in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017.

Tracey Crouch: There were no ministerial directions issued by the department between 2015 and 2017.

Hartlepool United Football Club

Mike Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to provide (a) financial and (b) other support for Hartlepool United; and if he will make a statement.

Tracey Crouch: The Government does not provide financial assistance to professional sports clubs. I am however encouraged by the steps the community, fans and other stakeholders are taking to safeguard the future of Hartlepool United FC, and welcome the advice that Supporters Direct are providing.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Beverage Containers

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate has been made of the number of hot drink cups that are (a) used each year and (b) sent for recycling by his Department.

Tracey Crouch: DCMS do not purchase any hot drinks cups. DCMS is based at 100 Parliament Street and as such staff use facilities provided by HM Treasury.

Tourism: Marketing

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps he has taken to promote tourism in the UK.

Michael Ellis: VisitBritain and VisitEngland are responsible for promoting the UK as a tourist destination, through a range of different initiatives and campaigns. VisitBritain receive grant-in-aid totalling £19.4m from DCMS and VisitEngland receive £7m. They also receive £22.8m of GREAT funding to support promotion activities. For every £1 the Government has invested in VisitBritain for international marketing, an overseas visitor spends £20 in Britain. These include the £40m Discover England Fund, which is targeted at developing high quality tourism products across England. The “Make Great Memories in England’s National Parks” that targets the Australian and German markets is one project from this fund. Additionally, in 2017 VisitBritain participated in travel trade missions across the world such as Destination Britain: China, the World Travel Market, World Routes and Destination Britain: North America. They also hold a variety of domestic promotion events throughout the country.

Tourism: Cornwall

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support her Department provides to increase the number of visitors to Cornwall.

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what funding his Department has allocated for the promotion of tourism in north Cornwall.

Michael Ellis: VisitBritain and VisitEngland are responsible for promoting the UK as a tourist destination, which it does through a range of different initiatives and campaigns. One of the current projects in the £40m Discover England Fund is the South West Coast Path, which is promoting the path to the Dutch and German market. Cornwall is also featured in their new domestic campaign “Join the World”. At of the end of the last financial year, the Heritage Lottery Fund has funded 639 projects totalling £104.3m in Cornwall. These projects range from the St Austell Townscape Heritage, the Tate St Ives and the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth. In addition, our colleagues in the Department of Cities and Local Growth have awarded over £11m of Coastal Communities Funding to 12 projects in Cornwall.

House of Commons Commission

Fairtrade Initiative

Dr David Drew: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what plans Parliament has to recognise Fair Trade Fortnight.

Tom Brake: The Houses of Parliament have for many years recognised and supported Fair Trade Fortnight. Catering customers are made aware of Fair Trade Fortnight through promotional screens and posters in the catering venues. In addition, members of the Catering Team speak to interested customers at their tables about the Fair Trade organisation during the fortnight.The House Service sources products that meet UK or equivalent standards of production, and considers purchasing Fairly Traded products where there is a competitive market. Since 1997, all coffee sold in catering outlets has been Fairtrade. Fairtrade products, including a variety of popular drinks and snacks labelled with the Fairtrade mark, are also sold by Catering Services in Parliament. Additionally, Parliament’s bottled water supplier is a social enterprise that donates proceeds to Water Aid.